Coronavirus: in the Philippines, cargo containers packed with food pile up in ports amid lockdown
- Some 8,200 containers – many containing much-needed supplies – are lying unclaimed in Manila’s ports due to transport restrictions and lack of personnel
- Vaguely implemented rules and erratic policing are disrupting the distribution of medical supplies and basic necessities
As Metro Manila enters the 18th day of a lockdown that has throttled the supply of goods to its 12.8 million people, transport restrictions and a lack of personnel have led to a pile-up of cargo containers – many of them containing much-needed food – in the region’s ports.
Manila-headquartered port management firm International Container Terminal Services said the city’s ports were nearly full, with 8,200 containers that had cleared customs awaiting pickup.
“Containers are simply not being removed from the terminal,” a spokesperson said, according to a Bloomberg report.
But there have been many cases of cargo trucks being stopped at checkpoints and prevented from entering the capital, while vaguely implemented rules, erratic policing and an abundance of red tape have disrupted the distribution of food, medical supplies and basic necessities.
