A day before the International Ship
and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code goes into effect,
only 67% or 112 of 166 Philippine-registered ships
have their International Ship Security Certificates.
The figure has not moved since Monday,
admitted Office of Transportation Security (OTS) undersecretary
Cecilio R. Penilla in an interview with PortCalls.
Still, Penilla said it is not proper to conclude that
the Philippines as a country is not ISPS compliant.
"The ISPS is intended for individual ports and ships.
To say that the Philippines is not compliant is an
overstatement. It is the port or the ship that is
not compliant."
As of press time, the OTS has completed
security audit for ten of the biggest international
ports throughout the country, including the South
Harbor at the port of Manila (see related story on
this page) and the Cebu International Airport, he
said.
Penilla noted that reports from various
ports are still pouring in, awaiting issuance of their
respective statements of compliance. "We are going
to process all reports that will be submitted through
the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). But the last
hope is still in the hands of the players themselves.
If they will not cooperate and submit on time, we
cannot do anything about it. It is their businesses
that will suffer after all," he pointed out.
Penilla stressed the OTS is not compelled
to issue clearances. "Although we are nearing the
deadline, the OTS sees it not proper to just issue
and sign certificates. We are scrutinizing every report
to ensure that ports [and ships] in truth follow the
code," he noted.
He said signing the contracts haphazardly
just to beat the deadline will not do anyone any good.
"If we do that, we must remember that the more the
trade will suffer," he pointed out.
THE South Harbor has acquired its compliance
certification for the International Ship and Port
Facility Security (ISPS) Code, announced its operator
Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI).
The first port in Luzon to be certified
by the Office of Transport Security (OTS) as ISPS
compliant, the South Harbor received its Statement
of Compliance four days before the July 1 deadline.
Only two others among the country's 24 major international
ports received the same certification: the Cebu International
Port for Visayas, and Dole Philippines Inc. for Mindanao.
The ISPS Code was adopted by the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) to ensure the safety and
security of all international ships and ports all
over the world. The code, to be strictly enforced
tomorrow, sets the standards by which ships and ports
will be allowed to transport and handle goods traded
by sea. Philippine shipments to the US, for example,
run the risk of being refused entry if the ship or
any of its last ten ports of call is not certified
to be ISPS-compliant.
ATI said it has invested in technologies
critical to setting higher standards in port security
and operational efficiency required of world's best
practice since the implementation of modernization
and development program at the South Harbor in 1998.
"ATI's security technologies and policies
are expected to provide additional value and benefits
in relation to the new port facility security requirements.
The company has, among others, an existing CCTV system
that provides security coverage of critical operational
areas and entry/exit points within the port. "A time
and attendance system using biometrics fingerprint
technology is also used for company employees and
selected groups of labor union-affiliated personnel,"
the company noted.
ATI said it is confident that investments
made in the ports it operates in Batangas, Bataan
and General Santos will also meet the IMO implementation
by July 2004.
THE Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATSC)
will integrate all its transport investments, including
Cebu Ferries Inc., Aboitiz Jebsen, SuperCommerce,
Aboitiz One and shipping operator ATSC (former William,
Gothong and Aboitiz), under one roof.
Under a single company, ATSC's shipping
services will represent about 60% of the group's total
assets. The rest will comprise land and air-based
services. The move is aimed at creating greater flexibility
and efficiency in its current operations and also
to raise more funds, said ATSC president and chief
executive officer Enrique M. Aboitiz, Jr. in a press
briefing following the company's annual stockholders'
meeting last Monday.
The integration of all transport assets
under one ownership, he said, will mean better and
more organized services. "While operating shipping
services, for instance, we may at the same time, offer
our courier or air-based services and this will mean
more revenues," he noted. The company said the new
ATSC will be "borderless, totally collaborative and
guided with the vision of better serving its customers.The
unification of the companies into simpler, united
structure will be able to expand its resources, therefore,
maximizing its value," it added.
ATSC added it has also integrated and
restructured its backbone and front-end information
technology systems, enhancing them with the latest
technologies that provide more efficient and effective
functionalities. Aboitiz said the integration of various
operations, however, will not require an increase
in investment.
What could increase are rates as a result
of higher fuel prices. Fuel costs eat up about P2
billion or 25% of the company's annual revenue. The
company is deciding whether the rate would take the
form of a fare increase or a fuel surcharge. "We have
to wait until the [fuel] prices become stable. I see
that it is improving by the year," Aboitiz said.
ATSC presently enjoys more than 20%
of total market share for the passage business and
about 40% of freight.
Aboitiz said the company is anticipating
a double-digit growth for its freight operations by
yearend.
THE Philippine Shippers Bureau (PSB)
said it has been able to convince approximately 65%
of shippers throughout the country to shift to either
the Cost and Freight (CFR) or Cost Insurance Freight
(CIF) terms from the traditional Free On Board (FOB)
basis.
This, after a year of the CFR/CIF promotion,
a source from PSB said. In Cagayan de Oro, where a
bulk of agricultural products is being exported, the
PSB has seen 30% of the shippers shift to CFR/CIF.
"We are continuously conducting seminars and workshops
in various parts of the country to encourage shippers
to shift to CFR or CIF and inform them of the benefits
they can reap from using the term," the source said.
"The main objective of the desired
shift is to give exporters the choice and flexibility
in taking the best transport arrangements for the
export cargoes instead of merely complying with whatever
their buyers nominate in the case of FOB," the PSB
said. Still, the PSB source admitted it might take
from five to 10 years to convince all shippers in
the Philippines to shift to CFR or CIF.
The PSB, in cooperation with the Small
Business Guarantee And Finance Corp., earlier came
up with a loan facility to address the concerns of
the CFR/CIF exporters for the payment of freight for
their export shipments.
"With this, the exporters will now
be able to make the most competitive shipping arrangements,"
the bureau said.
RP air panel pushes
separate cargo, passenger entitlements with Japan
The Philippine air panel is urging Tokyo
to grant local air carriers separate entitlements
for cargo and passenger operations.
This will help Philippine carriers
better determine the growth of their passenger and
cargo operations, especially with the opening of the
Nagoya Airport in February 2005. Civil Aeronautics
Board (CAB) Economic Planning and Research chief Porvenir
P. Porciuncula said current flight entitlements are
no longer sufficient to sustain the growing market
to and from Japan.
Japan is the country's top export market
for electronics and spare parts. The air panel is
also asking Japan for more port access, in addition
to Narita, Osaka, Okinawa and Fukuoka, which carriers
are currently servicing. Porciuncula added the Philippine
air panel is also keen on pushing for a new method
of determining the number of allowed frequencies to
Japan instead of the "co-efficient" system.
Japan gives entitlements through a system
of co-efficiency, determined in terms of aircraft
size. For instance, a small aircraft is equivalent
to one coefficient; a medium-sized aircraft, 1.5;
and a large aircraft, two. Porciuncula said the Philippines
is currently allowed 47 coefficients.
He said the Japan air panel is, however,
reluctant to grant the Philippines increased flight
frequencies.
