Pilgrim trek stretches Matnog port queue to 3 km

MATNOG, Sorsogon—Hundreds of cargo trucks, their queue stretching at least 3 kilometers in one area, have been stranded for at least six days outside the port here and in three other areas on highways in Sorsogon province, as port authorities prioritized pilgrims heading for Eastern Visayas for the papal visit in Tacloban City on Saturday.

As of noon Thursday, at least 319 cargo trucks have been stuck on the highway unable to cross from the port of Matnog to Allen, Northern Samar because only buses carrying pilgrims, private vehicles and trucks with perishable goods were given loading priority at the port.

With only eight roll-on-roll-off ferries plying the Matnog-Allen route, Philippine Ports Authority-Matnog port manager Menardo C. Adille said authorities had no choice but to put on hold cargo trucks that have nonperishable cargo.

Bad weather has also contributed to the delay of the ships’ turnaround time, he added.

“We are doing our best to accommodate all of them. But in the meantime, pilgrims are highly prioritized,” Adille said.

Adille said pilgrims were prioritized and allowed to travel first upon orders by the central office of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

To reduce the bottleneck at the Matnog port, many of the stranded trucks were held elsewhere and grouped about 10 km apart along highways in Sorsogon province, according to Senior Supt. Bernard Banac, Sorsogon provincial police chief.

Banac said as of last count, 165 trucks were stranded in Matnog town, 44 in Irosin, 30 in Juban, and 80 in Sorsogon City.

The queue of trucks in Matnog stretched to about 3 kilometers, snaking along the highway leading to the town’s port.

Frustration is rising among truck drivers.

They said they understood the need for pilgrims to reach Tacloban City to see the Pope but that they also have deadlines to meet and are out of money to buy food.

John Rey Adrias, 33, driver of a truck bound for Samar from Metro Manila, said he has been stuck at the Matnog port area for six days.

“It’s unfair,” said Adrias.

Another driver, Ulysses Estedo, 38, from Lavezares, Northern Samar, said drivers stuck in their trucks are going hungry.

Security for the papal visit would be reinforced by at least 200 policemen and policewomen from the regional office of the Mimaropa police.

The policemen and policewomen are from police stations in Oriental Mindoro and the Philippine National Police’s regional public safety battalion and headquarters. With a report from Madonna Virola, Inquirer Southern Luzon