Gordon seeks amendment
of Customs Brokers Act
SENATOR Richard J. Gordon is pushing
for an amendment to the controversial Republic
Act No. 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004,
in particular seeking to remove functions under
the law that he says put customs brokers on an
"even keel" with other professions.
The senator recently filed Senate
Bill No. 1740, an act amending Section 6 of the
law (Scope of the Practice of Customs Broker),
following a series of petitions from various lawyers'
groups.
In Section 6 of the Customs Brokers
Act, Gordon said, the "scope of practice
of customs brokers" was expanded, contrary
to their traditional role.
He explained that "the business
of a customs broker is a specialized field that
usually covers transactions with the Bureau of
Customs concerning the release of cargo. This
has been the traditional role of customs brokers,
not only in the Philippines, but also throughout
the world."
The new law also "encroaches
upon other professions, most especially the practice
of law". This, he said, is evident in the
law's Section 6, where it includes "consultation
and representing importers and exporters before
any government agency and private entities in
cases related to valuation and classification
of imported articles and rendering of other professional
services in matters relating to customs and tariff
laws, its procedures and practices."
With the enactment of the Customs
Brokers Act, he pointed out customs brokers were
placed on an "even keel with the members
of the Bar without the requisite qualification
in education and character to protect the public
from the incompetence or dishonesty of those unlicensed
to practice law."
Moreover, it "deprives other
customs providers such as tax consultants of their
livelihood," he added.
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Industry-specific CBW applications
on hold
THE Bureau of Customs recently issued a moratorium
on the processing and approval of applications
to establish and operate industry-specific customs
bonded warehouses (ICBW).
The moratorium does not cover applications filed
on or before September 20, 2004. Neither does
it cover applications for the operation of customs
bonded manufacturing warehouses (CBMW) as mandated
by the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.
"The application for the establishment
of CBMWs registration as end user-clients of ICBWs
and accreditation as members of CBMW may be processed,"
BOC said, noting this will need clearance from
the commissioner.
Meanwhile, the Bureau ordered the Port of Manila
(POM)- Food Terminal, Inc. (FTI) office to process
shipments of enterprises registered with the FTI-Special
Economic Zone.
BOC said this will facilitate customs clearance
for imports and exports in the area and also contribute
to the industrial productivity of the economic
zone.
It also directed the POM-FTI office to maintain
systematic recording of all transactions in the
area.
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Customs to implement e-payment
scheme in 2005
THE Bureau of Customs is intensifying its collaboration
with the Bankers Association of the Philippines
for the development of a payment portal to ease
disbursement transactions at customs.
The electronic payment scheme, for implementation
in mid-2005, "aims to get rid of paper check
and smooth the progress of online payment. We
are also gearing towards the development of a
payment mode wherein stakeholders may settle bills
through their mobile phones," Deputy Customs
commissioner for Management and Information System
Alexander Arevalo said.
He said the electronic payment portal will incorporate
35 different banks into one system, thus doing
away with the hassle of having to physically transact
with multiple banks.
Among the participating banks are Metrobank,
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Security
Bank Corporation, China Bank and Bank of the Philippine
Islands.
Arevalo said Customs envisions the electronic
payment facility to be the model for all government
agencies in the efficient collection of revenues.
"The payment scheme allows for bill presentment,
consolidation of transactions, checking and closing
of transactions, audit of performance and appraisal,"
he explained.
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ATI set to commission
four brand-new RTGs
TURNAROUND time at the South Harbor
Container Terminal will be faster when port operator
Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) commissions four brand
new, high-capacity rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes
it acquired recently from Mitsui Paceco of Japan.
The new yard cranes have a safe
working load of 40.8 tons under spreader.
The new cranes, manufactured in
September 2004 by Mitsui in Oita, Japan, have
the capacity to lift one container over five-high
stack of up to six-wide stacking. Weighing 120
tons, each of the RTG has a 20.40' spreader, radio
data terminals, wheel lock parking system, safety
limit switches and fully-airconditioned operator's
cabin with closed circuit television system.
The modernization of the container
handling equipment fleet began in 2000, with the
deployment of a brand new ship-to-shore crane,
forklifts, sideloaders and toploaders and trailers
to speed up vessel and truck turnaround time.
Port facilities have been upgraded
and the main container yard has been expanded
to increase annual throughput capacity from 600,000
TEU to 860,000 TEU in the last four years.
The acquisition of the new RTGs
is part of ATI's multi-million development program
for South Harbor, which includes three distinct
terminals for foreign containerized trade, foreign
non-containerized trade, and domestic passenger
and freight.
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PCCI wants separate
ro/ro, lo/lo areas
PORT users, through the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), are urging
the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to establish
a dedicated area each for roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro)
and lift-on/lift-off (lo-lo) operations at the
North Harbor.
PPA assistant general manager for
Special Projects and Corporate Planning Raul T.
Santos said PCCI wants the proposal included in
the final draft of the terms of reference (TOR)
for the North Harbor Modernization Project.
"Shippers see that competition
has shifted from merely terminal-based to the
mode of transportation, be it ro-ro or lo-lo,"
he noted, adding shippers perceive that port development
at present is more concentrated on ro-ro operations.
Santos said PPA expects PCCI to
submit its position paper by month's end. But
a PCCI source said the matter is still up for
discussion on the next committee meeting scheduled
next month.
Under the project's first phase,
an additional one-kilometer berth for domestic
vessels will be added. This will accommodate 40%
of the domestic container traffic shipped to Manila
and 40-50% of the entire ro-ro operations of the
North Harbor.
The remaining 60% of the container
and ro-ro market will be handled by phases 2 and
3 of the port modernization project, expected
to start by late 2005.
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Aug imports register
8.9% rise
TOTAL merchandise trade for August
2004 went up 11.3% to $6.794 billion from $6.107
billion during the same period of the previous
year. Dollar-inflow generated by exports amounted
to $3.415 billion, or 13.7% higher than last year's
$3.003 billion. Similarly, expenditures for imported
goods gained 8.9% to $3.379 billion from $3.104
billion. The Balance of Trade in goods recorded
a surplus for the Philippines at $36 million after
experiencing monthly deficits for a period of
five months. During the same month last year BOT-G
registered a deficit of $101 million.
Accounting for 42.5% of the total
aggregate import bill, payments for electronic
products amounted to $1.437 billion or 2.9% lower
than last year's reported figure at $1.480 billion.
Compared to the previous month's level, purchases
declined 3.3% from $1.486 billion.
Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants
and related materials ranked second with 12.7
percent share. Expenditures at $428.97 million,
registered a 33.8% growth over the previous year's
level which stood at $320.56 million.
Industrial machinery and equipment,
the third top import was worth $130.78 million,
or a decrease of 6.3% from $139.52 million in
the previous year.
Aggregate payment for the country's
top ten imports for August 2004 amounted to $2.495
billion or 73.8% of the total bill.
Capital goods comprising 36.7%
of the total imports slowed down 1.3% year-on-year
to $1.240 billion from $1.257 billion. The biggest
share went to telecom-munication equipment and
electrical machinery with a 20.9% share of the
total imports and billed at $704.43 million.
Payments for raw materials and
intermediate goods accounted for 36.7% as importation
climbed 6.6% to $1.240 billion from last year's
reported figure of $1.163 billion. Semi-processed
raw materials got the major share with a 32.8
percent and valued at $1.110 billion.
Expenditures for mineral fuels,
lubricants and related materials advanced 33.8%
to $428.97 million from $320.56 million during
the same level of 2003. Purchases of consumer
goods priced at $277.74 million picked up 14.6%
from $242.31 million in August 2003, while special
transactions improved 57.7% to $192.06 million
from $121.76 million.
Imports from Japan accounting for
18.4% of the total import bill, rose 1.9% to $620.51
million from $608.99 million during the same period
of 2003. On the other hand, exports to Japan,
amounted to $668.33 million yielding a two-way
trade value of $1.289 billion and a trade surplus
for RP placed at $47.78 million.
The US, the country's second biggest
source of imports with a 16.6% share, reported
shipments charged at $559.70 million against exports
earnings of $848.19 million. Total trade amounted
to $1.408 billion, with a trade surplus for the
Philippines registered by as much as $288.45 million.
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MARINA eyes maritime
database
THE Maritime Industry Authority
(MARINA) is gearing toward the development of
a maritime database that would give a clear picture
of the state of the local industry.
In a report to members of the Philippine
Interisland Shipping Association (PISA), MARINA
administrator Vicente T. Suazo, Jr., said the
database should provide basic information on the
history of every ship in the international and
domestic trade - be it wooden hulled, with outriggers
or steel hulled - from the time of construction
to the time of deployment in Philippine waters.
Suazo said this should also include
the ship's registry date, details of compliance
to mandatory drydocking requirements, and marine
accident record.
"The database would assist
us in coming up with a more realistic modernization
program which would eventually put into motion
the phase out of wooden-hulled and the program
on ship retirement and replacements," he
said.
MARINA is planning to make the
database available to the industry, similar to
the e-procurement system of the Philippine Ports
Authority (PPA).
Suazo said MARINA is eyeing a partnernership
with Unisys Philippines on a feasibility study
for the project early next year. "We are
just awaiting their feedback on our proposal,"
he said.
Earlier, Unisys completed a feasibility
study for the development of the Seafarers' Identity
System (SID), which will allow for the use of
a new biometric identity verification system.
The SID will be applied to the
1.2-million maritime workers handling 90% of the
world's trade. In the Philippines, there are about
250,000 seafarers that would benefit from SID.
Suazo said the creation of a strong
database would complement the issuance of the
SID, since the e-transactions would involve electronic
procurement and the interface of various shipping
and maritime agencies.
"This means all the agencies
concerned in the maritime industry - both government
and private - will be interconnected through one
electronic gateway. This would then allow for
paperless transactions," he pointed out.
He said the electronic interface
would help address the seemingly lack of coordination
among the country's maritime agencies. "We
will see to it that MARINA will be closely coordinating
with concerned agencies such as the PPA and the
Philippine Coast Guard," he added.
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PHILPESTA throws
support to new PPA, Marina chiefs
THE Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport
Association (PHILPESTA) recently expressed support
over the appointments of Philippine Ports Authority
general manager Oscar Sevilla and Maritime Industry
Authority administrator Vicente Suazo.
Philpesta officials recently made
a courtesy call on newly appointed MARINA administrator
Vicente Suazo, Jr. (fourth from left). From R-L:
past chairman Gerry Santos, Capt. Lionel Francisco,
Boy de Guzman, Lawrence Leonio, incumbent chairman
Toto Umali, William How, and Joven Yulo.
"Over four years of service
as MARINA administrator, Sevilla showed his dedication
and commitment in uplifting standards of maritime
administration while enhancing safety and viability
of the shipping industry," PHILPESTA said.
It was during his term that a landmark
legislation, the Republic Act 9295 or the Domestic
Shipping Development Act, was passed. The law
provides more incentives to domestic shipping
players.
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Maiden call of
NYK vessel for Southern Cross Service
A container vessel of Japanese
liner NYK Logistics and Megacarrier recently had
its maiden call at the Manila International Container
Terminal (MICT), International Container Terminal
Services, Inc.'s flagship operation. The 1,350-TEU
capacity MV ACX Sakura, one of four vessels chartered
for the new Southern Cross Service (SCS), arrived
from Laem Chabang, Thailand offloading 141 TEUs
and loading 159 TEUs. After the MICT, the vessel
sailed to Keelung, Taiwan.
To mark the inaugural call, William
Gutierrez, ICTSI customer relations manager (third
from left), presented a commemorative certificate
to Capt. Homma Kenkichi, ACX Sakura vessel master
(fourth from left). Witnessing the awarding rites
were other NYK officers (L to R): Fidem P. Sigaya,
terminal manager; Daniel C. Ventanilla Jr., general
manager; Kazuo Ishii, vice chairman and owner's
representative and Miguel Mozo, account executive.
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Islas Tanker's
Harvest Moon declared ISPS-compliant
Islas Tanker Shipping Corporation's
(ITSC) M/T Harvest Moon was recently declared
compliant to the International Ship and Port Facility
Security (ISPS) code.
The 3,266 deadweight-ton tanker
classed by Bureau Veritas is the first domestic
tanker which adheres to the "Special Measures
to Enhance Maritime Security" under the ISPS
code.
M/T Harvest Moon received a five-year
full-term International Ship Security Certificate
(ISSC), following verification by Det Norske Veritas
(DNV), a Recognized Security Organization (RSO)
delegated with authority by the Office of Transportation
Security (OTS).
M/T Harvest Moon is the second
vessel in the ITSC fleet granted an ISSC by DNV.
LPG/C Islas Gas, ITSC's 3,500 cbm LPG carrier
engaged in the Far East trade, was granted its
ISSC last June 2004.
ITSC said while the local shipping
industry is awaiting issuance of the corresponding
ISPS guidelines in the domestic trade, the company
took the initiative in securing certification
of its vessel.
The ISPS code applies to ships
engaged in international trade, including passenger
ships, high-speed craft, and cargo vessels of
500 gross tons and above and mobile offshore drilling
units.
The code also covers all port facilities
serving ships engaged in international trade.
It also mandates cooperation among the shipping
and port industries in ensuring that security
assessments, plans and procedures are in place.
Implementation of the ISPS Code
has been delegated to the OTS under the Department
of Transportation and Communication.
A major player in the petroleum
shipping industry, ITSC has been in the industry
since 1993 as owners and operators of the tanker
fleet of the NMC Group of Companies.
It operates two petroleum tankers
and a liquefied petroleum gas carrier, all under
long-term charter to the Shell Group of Companies.
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