The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) yesterday assured  there is no congestion at the port of Manila and that it is ready to handle the anticipated surge in cargo traffic for the holiday season.

Following the PPA’s call to consignees to remove their rice shipments from the ports, PPA general manager Jay Santiago said  300 containers were pullout by their owners on September 21 to 23.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, Santiago said  there is no congestion in ports  managed by Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and Manila South Harbor terminals at the Port of Manila (POM).

“Because of our disclosure about the overstaying rice,  300 containers have been pulled out by their respective consignees over the weekend. We look forward to the coming days until the end of the month (that we) will permanently reduce  overstaying containers that contain rice,” said Santiago.

Santiago clarified  PPA cannot prosecute the consignees who deliberately store their rice shipments at the port to wait for prices to increase.

Santiago said unclaimed cargoes 30 days after these are cleared at the BOC will be declared abandoned.

The BOC can proceed with abandonment proceedings if any shipments remain unclaimed after this period.

Santiago assured  the PPA is ready for the holiday season when cargo traffic is expected to increase at the ports.

“Our docks are ready for the influx of cargo needed for the upcoming holiday season. We expect  cargo traffic to increase at the PPA terminals, leading towards Christmas starting November until before Chinese New Year next year,” he added.

Vincent Philip Maronilla, BOC assistant commissioner and spokesperson, said in a televised interview the unclaimed rice shipments in the ports are not expected to have an impact on rice prices.

Maronilla said none of the shipments have exceeded the 30-day period stipulated by Section 1129(d) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

“In our assessment, it is likely that this situation of rice shipments pending in our ports will not yet affect rice prices since it has not yet been that long,” Maronilla said.

“Nevertheless, we’re still going to push for the consignees to pick these up and bring these shipments to their respective destinations,” he added.

At the POM, 258 containers of rice remain in the yard. Of these, 237 containers have been cleared for release after payment of duties and taxes. The remaining 21 containers, accounting for 8.13

percent, had their Goods Declarations lodged only on September 20, and are still in the process of being cleared.

At the MICP, 630 containers of rice remain in the yard. Of these, 492 containers have been cleared for release, while 138 containers are still pending payment of duties and taxes.

The BOC said it is continuously monitoring the situation and assures the public that the necessary processes are being followed.

“The BOC remains committed to ensuring that the release of rice shipments follows the legal procedures without unnecessary delays,” customs commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said.

“We urge consignees to act promptly to avoid further disruptions. The BOC stands ready to enforce abandonment proceedings as mandated by law if goods remain unclaimed,” he added.

Santiago also said PPA would sustain its coordination with the Department of Agriculture (DA)  and will strengthen its monitoring not just on the rice shipments but also of other prime commodities such as pork, chicken, and onion among others.

DA assistant secretary Arnel De Mesa said the price of rice in the country is starting to go down.

He said imported rice is currently sold at P42 a kilo while locally-produced rice costs about P45.

He said the DA expects to  harvest about 20 million metric tons (MT) of rice this year.

De Mesa also allayed concerns about the impact of the recent series of weather disturbances on the agricultural sectors, which left around 420,000 MT of damaged agricultural goods.

He said the country loses about 400,000 to 600,000 MT every year.

The recent typhoons resulted in 420,000 MT crop losses.

De Mesa said the DA expects further changes in the prices of rice between October this year and January 2025.

President Marcos Jr. during the presidential campaign period had promised to lower the prices of rice to P20 per kilo.