San Juanico blockage spawns logistics crisis

TACLOBAN CITY — Truckloads of bananas bound for Metro Manila are rotting in Ormoc City, stranded for days as government agencies scramble to address a logistical crisis triggered by traffic restrictions on the San Juanico Bridge.

Live hogs have also been trapped in trucks for nearly a week, unfed and exposed to extreme weather, while drivers queue desperately for roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) trips from Ormoc to Calbayog City. From there, they hope to resume travel to Luzon via Matnog, Sorsogon.

Earlier this week, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) granted temporary permits for RoRo vessels to operate between Calbayog City and the towns of Ormoc and Palompon to ease traffic and facilitate movement of goods.

Leyte Board Member Wilson Uy, a former governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tacloban-Leyte chapter, warned that the lack of functional ports to ferry trucks from Leyte to Samar is choking not only the regional economy but also that of Mindanao.

“It is not only us here in Eastern Visayas who are suffering. The farmers in Mindanao are also suffering because they cannot bring their harvest to Metro Manila. Mindanao remains the country’s food basket,” Uy said.

Across Samar, many gas stations have stopped selling fuel after running out of supply.

Uy, whose family owns a chain of fuel stations, said most tankers failed to cross the San Juanico Bridge before the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) enforced a three-ton weight limit earlier this month.

He said 90 percent of Eastern Visayas’ fuel supply comes from the oil depot in Babatngon, Leyte, distributed via tanker trucks.

“Most tankers and lorries are from Tacloban. Some that were out for delivery are still stuck in traffic. Many trucks that went to Tacloban to refuel couldn’t return,” he said.

Some Samar stations have begun sourcing fuel from a depot in Pasacao, Camarines Sur, incurring higher logistics costs passed on to consumers—raising fuel prices by around P1.70 per liter.

In Tacloban City, malls and downtown stores are seeing fewer patrons, as foot traffic declines. Uy estimated that at least 60 percent of Tacloban’s market base comes from Samar.

“Samar market is what keeps Tacloban business afloat,” he said.

To ease the impact, business leaders are pushing for the immediate opening of Amandayehan Port in Basey, Samar—managed by the local government—for RoRo vessels to ferry trucks to Tacloban in just 30 minutes.

On 21 May, officials from the Office of Civil Defense, DPWH, MARINA, and PPA inspected the port. The PPA said in a May 22 statement that Amandayehan “still needs further improvements before it can accommodate safe maritime operations.”

On Sunday, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon and PPA General Manager Jay Santiago conducted another inspection and requested DPWH to fast-track rehabilitation work for the port’s immediate opening.

The San Juanico Bridge, inaugurated on 2 July 1973, during the Marcos Sr. administration, remains a vital symbol of Philippine infrastructure.

Stretching 2.16 kilometers across the San Juanico Strait, it connects Leyte and Samar and serves as a key link in the Pan-Philippine Highway, connecting Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Although now surpassed in length by the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway and the newly opened Panguil Bay Bridge, San Juanico’s strategic value in national logistics remains unmatched. It supports the movement of food, goods, and essential supplies between islands.

After more than 50 years in service, the DPWH imposed the three-ton weight limit this May, following structural assessments. The restriction has caused severe bottlenecks, cargo spoilage, and fuel shortages—prompting Samar’s provincial government to declare a state of emergency.

The DPWH has allotted P900 million for emergency bridge repairs, expected to be completed within two years. Officials hope to raise the bridge’s load limit to 10 tons by late 2025.

Meanwhile, the government is preparing for the construction of a second San Juanico Bridge, planned to be 2.6 kilometers long and funded through Japanese Official Development Assistance. The detailed engineering design is expected by 2026.