*RP container traffic up 1.62% in first six months

*RP seeks air renegotiation with US

*PCG wants stiffer penalties for oil spillers

*Jardine's MV Duburg maiden call at MICT

*RA 9280 to hit hard non-BSCA graduates

 

RP container traffic up 1.62% in first six months

CONTAINER traffic to and from the Philippines increased 1.62% to 1,357,928 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) from 1,336,218 TEUs during the first semester (see table), based on Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) figures.

Growth in the interisland container trade more than made up for the decline in foreign box traffic from January to June.

Interisland trade of containerized cargoes exhibited a 13.24% growth to 482,342 TEUs from 425,935 TEUs while foreign box traffic slid 3.81% to 875,586 TEUs from 910,283 TEUs in 2003.

PPA said the reduction has affected the country's overall container traffic performance, particularly with both imports and exports for the period dropping 4.01% and 3.61%, respectively.

From January to June, the total cargo throughput went up 2.91% to 64.823 million metric tons (MT) from 62.991 million MT. Domestic cargoes totaled 32.273 million MT, up 4.28% from 30.949 million MT during last year's comparable period.

Foreign cargo throughput for the six-month period also rose 1.59% to 32.550 million MT from 32.042 million MT. Imports were up 1.88% while exports grew 0.89%.

PPA said that despite the modest increase, the performance was favorable to the sector, especially with the current setback in the Philippine economy. It may be recalled that President Gloria Arroyo recently said the country was in a "fiscal crisis".

Total shipcalls during the period rose 6.03% to 144,342 from 136,132 a year before. While domestic vessels exhibited a 6.37% growth, foreign vessels docking at the local ports fell 3.68%.

Passenger traffic registered an increase of 8.54% to 25.411 million from 23.412 million. The number of local travelers embarking and disembarking from various ports in the country went up 8.57%. Foreign passengers, however, decreased 31.25% during the period.

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RP seeks air renegotiation with US

MANILA wants to reopen air talks with Washington to amend the Philippine-US air transport agreement (ATA), said Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro M. Mendoza.

He, however, failed to discuss the agenda of the talks, but said that the Philippine government, through its air transportation arm the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), is promoting progressive aviation liberalization.

The US is advocating for open skies.

The transportation secretary is a member of the three-man committee tasked by President Gloria Arroyo to renegotiate the RP-US ATA. Other members include the secretaries of the departments of foreign affairs and tourism.

Under the 1982 ATA, American carriers can fly to any destination in the country without limits as to seating capacity and frequency entitlements. Philippine carriers do not have the same privileges in the US.

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PCG wants stiffer penalties for oil spillers

PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD (PCG) vice-admiral Arthur Gosingan recently appealed to lawmakers to slap stiffer penalties on oil spillers to lessen, if not totally abate, oil spills in Philippine waters.

The move is in line with the agency's collaboration with neighboring countries such as Japan and Indonesia in protecting the marine environment.

Gosingan noted that at present, approximately 30% of the country's marine resources are being destroyed by marine pollution.

He said the tighter policy is included in the most recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on vessel's water ballasting to prevent illegal discharge of hazardous elements from ships.

In line with this, the PCG recently forged an agreement with marine environment experts from the Japan and Indonesian coast guard to conduct a marine oil pollution exercise at Sorong, Irian Jima, Indonesia in June 2005.

Under the agreement, the three countries are bound to send vessels, air assets and marine environmental protection personnel to participate in the week-long training called Marpolex Sorong 2005.

The PCG said the training covers sessions on combating oil pollution, and firefighting and search and rescue exercises. "The exercise will test and evaluate the level of interoperability of the participating countries in case of major trans-boundary oil spill," Gosingan said.

The exercise will also simulate a major oil spill scenario from a blazing vessel with the participants employing modern equipment to prevent the oil from destroying the marine resources.

During the exercise, a fleet of small ships will conduct firefighting demonstration while rescue and medical personnel will present a brisk airborne operations and emergency evacuation procedure.

Marpolex, which started in 1988, is a bilateral agreement between Indonesia and the Philippines. It is conducted every two years with the two counties alternately hosting the activity. In 1995, the Japan Coast Guard joined the exercise held in Manila.

The last exercise, also hosted by the PCG, was attended by non-governmental organizations, shipping personnel and representatives from major oil companies.

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Jardine's MV Duburg maiden call at MICT

A vessel of Jardine Davies Transport Services, Inc. recently had its maiden call at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) flagship operation. Coming from Kaoshiung, Taiwan, the 1,700-vessel capacity MV Duburg docked at Berth 5, loading 1,142 TEUs and discharging 872 TEUs. After the MICT, the vessel sailed to Laem Chabang, Thailand. William Gutierrez (second from left), ICTSI customer relations manager, awarded a commemorative certificate to Captain Franciszek Nowak, vessel master (third from left). Also present were Jardine Davies Transport Services officers (left to right): Arman R. Federigan, port agency manager; Rene Vargas, general manager; and George Maghirang, operations assistant.

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RA 9280 to hit hard non-BSCA graduates

THE controversial Customs Brokers Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9280) will hit hard aspiring customs brokers who do not have a Bachelor's Degree in Customs Administration.

In the recently concluded second round of public hearing on the law, Board of Examiner for Customs Broker member Constantino L. Calica said Section 16 of the act limits the qualified applicants for the Customs exam.

Section 16 states: "In order to be admitted to the licensure examination for the customs broker profession, a candidate shall at the time of filing of his/her application, establish that... he/she is a holder of a Bachelor's Degree in Customs Administration: Provided, That a holder of a master's degree in Customs Administration shall be allowed to qualify within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act."

The Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC), in consultation with various stakeholders, is drafting the law's implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

Calica said that due to this provision, customs brokers who want to take the licensure examination should first take the Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration (BCSA) course. "The new provision supercedes Section 34-01 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, which allows non-BSCA graduates to take the examination," he noted.

The said provision, however, stirred confusion among existing practitioners who are not BSCA graduates.

Another Board of Examiner member, Tony A. Cristobal, disclosed two universities (Mariner's Polytechnic Colleges and the Lyceum of the Philippines) offering Customs Tariff courses have submitted their position paper on the matter, asking for a transitory period of four to five years.
Cristobal said the group might adapt the Commission on Higher Education's system which allows for a five-year transitory period for the gradual phase out of the old course.

The licensure examination will cover: Customs Laws and Implementing Rules and Regulations; Tariff Laws and International Trade Agreements; Practical Computation of Customs Duties, Taxes and Other Charges; Documentation, Professional Ethics, Customs Procedures and Practices; and Warehousing and Cargo Handling Operations.

Meanwhile, a new task force was created upon the directive of R.A. 9280 co-author senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. to expedite the completion of the IRR.

The task force is composed of Finance undersecretary Inocencio Ferrer, Jr. as chair; PRC representatives as co-chair; Trade and Industry representative Pete Mendoza; Bureau of Customs' Butch Placido and Export Development Council's Emmanita Mijares.

There is no word yet on who will replace Ferrer, who resigned from government service last week, as chair of the task force.

The private sector will include representatives from various associations such as the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc., Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Port Users Confederation, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Exporters Confederation.

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