Standard
LCL rates out soon?
THE freight forwarding industry may soon have standard
rates for less than-container-load (LCL) cargoes.
Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association
(PISFA) president Erich Lingad said the association
is currently working with the Association of Off-Dock
Container Yard Operators of the Philippines (ACOP)
to come up with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) designating
the Philippine Shippers Bureau (PSB) and the Bureau
of Customs as the monitoring agency for rates. "All
forwarders (whether PISFA or not) and warehouse operators
(whether ACOP or not) will be required to follow the
standard charges or face sanctions such as substantial
fines and the cancellation of accreditation/license.
To eliminate rebates and excessive charges, the US
practice will be adopted, in which customers only
pay the forwarder's charges and warehouse storage
charges," Lingad wrote in the PISFA column which appeared
Monday in PortCalls. He said PISFA is scheduled to
meet with ACOP tomorrow to finalize the draft of the
MOA, expected to be signed next month.
Freight forwarding firms agreed that the imposition
of a uniform rate will engender fair competition at
the same time protect consignees and importers from
overcharging.
Pacific Shipping and Distribution, Inc. president
Job Adriano said instituting standard rates for the
LCL business will professionalize the "way things
are done" in the forwarding industry. At present,
non-PISFA members follow their own set of rates. Adriano,
also PISFA's corporate secretary, noted that since
there is no regulatory body that monitors the rates
of forwarding firms, some don't think twice about
jacking up their rates."Because of this, the importers,
our customers, suffer. We want to protect them and
we want forwarders to learn how to be considerate
and competitive at the same time," he noted.
Lester Miclat, Skyfreight Forwarders, Inc. Ocean
Services manager, said he sees the proposed charges
as "reasonable enough". PISFA - the only PSB-accredited
organization representing the seafreight forwarding
sector - came to a consensus before finally deciding
to push for the PISFA rates as industry standard.
Miclat pointed out that overcharging among forwarding
companies is becoming too much. "The stabilization
of rates will be able to support the industry and,
at the same time, compensate for the services the
forwarders are giving," he said. Sea-Jet International
Forwarders, Inc. president Bienvenido C. Anunciacion,
agreed with Miclat.
He said a uniform set of rates will calm the market.
"The PSB will be able to police the rates and, therefore,
have sufficient basis to sanction forwarding companies
who do not follow the standard," he said.He said the
ultimate objective of stabilizing the rates is to
keep the business running smoothly for the long term.
"We are hoping that eventually, other forwarders
will come to realize that there is a proper way of
putting the current practice in an appropriate and
fair manner," he said.
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RP
readies compliance to new wood packaging requirements
The Export Development Council (EDC) is currently
drafting amendments to export procedures and documentation
policies to comply with new international wood packaging
requirements.
The amendments will incorporate provisions of the
new International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures
(ISPM). Countries such as the United States, Canada,
Mexico, European Union, Korea, China and Switzerland
have recently notified the World Trade Organization
of their plan to adopt the ISPM on wooden packaging
materials used for international trade. The ISPM was
prepared by the International Plant Protection Convention
as part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization's global program of policy and technical
assistance in plant quarantine.
Under the ISPM, exporting countries are required
to set up programs of heat treatment or Methyl Bromide
Fumigation, as well as institute marking of wooden
packing materials used for international trade. Failure
to comply will lead to destruction, rejection of entry
or return of cargo.
As an exporting country, the Philippines has to
align its policies with its major trading partners,
noted the Philippine Shippers Bureau (PSB), one of
the government agencies working for the swift amendment
of the new export procedures. Under the draft prepared
by the EDC, products for export such as plants, planting
materials and plant products capable of harboring
pests, insect specimens, live and dead must be regulated
by the Bureau of Plant Industry.
The PSB is expected to orient freight forwarding
companies and other involved sectors about the ISPM.
- Maritess R. Mesias
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MARINA
signs MOA with NBI to monitor issuance of seafarers'
documents
| THE Maritime Industry Authority
(MARINA) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with the National Bureau of Investigation
(NBI) to closely monitor the issuance of seafarers'
documents, licenses and certificates.
MARINA administrator Oscar M. Sevilla said
that with the partnership, the maritime agency
is hoping to abate the proliferation of tampered,
fake or irregularly issued MARINA licenses and
certificates. |
|
The MOA also aims to enhance the capability of MARINA
personnel to detect fraud."The MOA will address
the continuing concern to protect and maintain the
integrity of these documents here and abroad," Sevilla
added.
Under the agreeement, a Special Task Force will be
formed to formulate plans, policies, and strategies
in apprehending, investigating and prosecuting those
responsible for the irregular issuance of documents
from MARINA.
The Special Task Force will directly submit its report
and recommendations to the MARINA administrator and
develop a Personnel Enhancement Program where the
NBI will provide lectures, seminars and workshops
on forgery detection and investigation techniques.
The MARINA-NBI cooperation started in 1993 when the
maritime community was alarmed by the proliferation
of forged Safety of Life at Seas (SOLAS) training
certificates.
Recent incidents involving the fake validation of
Seaman's Book and the falsification of licenses being
issued by the maritime agency such as the Qualification
Document Certificate and the Major/Minor Patron licenses
have prompted the MARINA to activate the cooperation
with the NBI.
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