ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Incorporated (ZCCIFI) has called on the task force on coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to lift the existing truck ban to ensure food security here.
Pedro Rufo Soliven, ZCCIFI president, said on Thursday the lifting of the ban would allow the re-entry of logistics trucks at a border in Barangay Licomo.
Soliven noted that loaded trucks such as fish carriers, soft drinks, canned sardines, among others, are allowed to travel to other places in Mindanao to deliver their goods “but when they go back to Zamboanga City, they are banned from entry because the trucks are empty.”
“The community quarantine ordered by Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar is being supported by the business sector because the mayor wants to prevent the spread of the virus," Soliven said. "But now we see the flaw in that these trucks are affected."
He said the ban has affected the local canning industry, which supplies 80 percent of the sardines’ production in the country.
“We need gasoline, flour for our bakeries, vegetables, and many other products, so we don’t need to completely close the border,” Soliven said.
He said as long as the occupants of the trucks are trained on sanitation, they should be allowed entry
Soliven has also called on the banks to ensure that their automated teller machines are always filled with cash. (PNA)
