THE Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has put on hold for 60 days
its policy requiring all cargo trucks and vans with
white plates to secure yellow plates, and for cargo
truckers to acquire franchises from the LTFRB before
they can operate.
The policy - which was to have been implemented this
week - is designed to minimize, if not eliminate, colorum
public utility vehicles.
The agency said the extension was granted not so much
as to give truckers time to acquire franchises but to
deliberate on possible policy modifications. LTFRB's
decision was confirmed in separate interviews with Alliance
of Concerned Truck Owners and Organization (ACTOO) chairman
and president Ricardo C. Papa and Confederation of Truckers
Association of the Philippines (CTAP) president Rodolfo
T. De Ocampo.
The policy was earlier derided by ACTOO members, who
said they would stage a strike once the ruling is enforced.
CTAP members, on the other hand, were willing to adhere
to the policy.
In an earlier interview, Papa said cargo trucks should
not be categorized as public utilities. "Our dealings
with our clients - freight forwarders, warehouse operators,
cargo handlers - they are all private, so why should
we be covered by this policy?" he said.
Activities that stress the private nature of the business
include the formulation of own rates and route preferences,
he explained. "We really can't understand what specific
information should be covered by that franchise. Unlike
buses and jeepneys, we do not transport people or the
public." In addition, acquiring a franchise is a tedious
process that involves additional cost, Papa said.
"This policy will result in a lot of delays in shipment
delivery and at the end of the day the liability lies
with truckers," he noted. Papa said that within the
60-day moratorium, all cargo trucks and container vans
will be allowed to operate without being apprehended
by LTFRB agents and police forces.
The moratorium will also give truckers leeway to come
up with a united position on the issue to be submitted
to the regulatory agency. "We are hoping that the LTFRB
will reverse that ruling," Papa said.
CTAP's De Ocampo meanwhile explained his association
was amenable to the policy because this was not something
alien to them. "The (CTAP) cooperative requires that
members availing of incentives should have franchises
so the ruling was not that really new to us," he explained.
He said the cooperative - created in response to the
spiraling costs of fuel and high price of spare parts
and maintenance - provides for various benefits such
as tax breaks on spare parts importation.
He said what CTAP is really pushing for is the passage
of a bill pending in Congress - for almost five years
now - will remove the distinction between private and
franchise plates.
TTHE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has commenced
its P500-million computerization project with the awarding
of the feasibility study to Pacific Consulting International
of Japan, and the actual project implementation to Unisys
Corp.
In an interview with PortCalls, Customs deputy commissioner
for Management Information System and Technology Group
(MISTG) Alexander M. Arevalo said the computerization
project involves the customization of the Automated
System for Customs Data-World (ASYCUDAWorld) to the
Philippine customs setting.
ASYCUDAWorld is a customs software developed and provided
by the United Nations Cooperation for Trade and Development
presently being used by over 85 countries worldwide.
"We are hoping (the project) will be completed by year-end,
with two-year maintenance coverage thereafter," Arevalo
noted.
This is a first upgrade of the computer system developed
during the incumbency of then Customs now Internal Revenue
commissioner Guillermo Parayno, he added. ASYCUDAWorld
will allow non-face-to-face import and export transactions
with the BOC.
It will develop the single window, which will facilitate
single submission, single processing and single decision-making
at Customs. The inter-agency linkage will provide electronic
connection with all agencies from whom importers are
required to get clearances and permits for confirmation
of such requirements.
A major component of the program is the
upgrade of the imports and assessment system, which
includes automation of importers and brokers registration;
full automation of the manifest system with pre-arrival
processing and direct links to the import entries and
databases of shipping lines and airlines; enhancement
of the valuation system; and enhancement of the risk
management or selectivity system.
For export transactions, the system will automate the
entry processing system, raw materials liquidation system,
and bonds management system. In addition, the software
will automate the resources and operations management
system, including activation of an enterprise resources
planning system involving human resources, financial
management and general services.
"There will also be a passenger entry system and a cargo
baggage system for NAIA and other international airports
and passenger seaports," Arevalo said, adding that the
legal management and case monitoring, statistical management,
alert and post-entry audit systems will also be automated.
Through the project, Arevalo said the BOC will develop
a funds monitoring system for the Development Budget
Coordinating Council composed of the Office of the President,
Department of Budget Management, Department of Finance,
National Economic and Development Authority, and Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas.
"This system envisions providing the equivalent of an
electronic balance sheet, income statement and sources
and uses of funds statement for fiscal and budget planning
of the government," he said.
Anti-smuggling
campaign leads to higher Customs collections
THE National Anti-Smuggling Task Force
(NASTF) said higher benchmarks set by customs brokers
have led to an extra P70-million tax revenues per day
or P2.1 billion a month. From P50,000, benchmark rates
of brokers rose to P85,000 per container as the government
announced its intensified drive against big-time smuggling
syndicates.
On average, government is being deprived of P54 billion
annually due to smuggling. About 2,000 containers are
assessed daily at the country's two major ports - the
Port of Manila and the Manila International Container
Terminal.
NASTF chief Angelo T. Reyes said the increase in the
bureau's revenue collection is a manifestation that
smugglers are starting to "feel the heat" of government's
intensified crackdown on smuggling operations. "And
this is only at a tactical and operational level. We
expect to gain more with policy actions that we are
aggressively pursuing," he said.
Davao
port opens new reefer facility, terminal building
THE Philippine Ports Authority-Port Management
Office (PMO) Davao has completed a 140-outlet reefer
rack facility that will supplement the 60 outlets at
the Sasa port.
Located on the north side of the port adjacent to the
container yards, the reefer rack will mostly cater to
shippers of fresh banana and other select fruits, dairy
products, frozen food, and chemicals for both import
and export.
The facility is equipped with a 100 KVA powerhouse to
ensure stable electric supply, a power transformer and
stand-by generator. Meanwhile, the PMO also opened its
200-square-meter terminal operations building near the
gate complex and Sasa port.
The P3.8-million building houses a one-stop-shop for
all port transactions, including assessments and payments.
With continued implementation of the International Ship
and Port Facility Security code, the port of Davao has
also put in place security measures, including tight
monitoring of people.
ICTSI
has country's first female port equipment operator
Maria Lee G. Sumadchat, ICTSI terminal
operations supervisor, proves that the port is no longer
a man's exclusive domain. Sumadchat is the Philippines'
first female port equipment operator. To her left is
a rubber-tired gantry which she operates.
THE Manila International Container Terminal
(MICT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc.'s
(ICTSI) flagship operation, now employs the first female
port equipment operator in the Philippines.
Maria Lee G. Sumadchat, a supervisor in the terminal
operations department, is the country's first woman
rubber-tired gantry (RTG) operator after successfully
undergoing training on RTG operations under ICTSI's
Port Equipment Operators' Training (PEOT). Sumadchat,
who joined ICTSI in 2000 as a management trainee, said:
"They say that work in the port is a man's world. Not
anymore.
Thanks to this training program, any employee here at
ICTSI, regardless of rank, nature of job, and gender,
can now operate any container handling equipment." "As
supervisor, it's not enough that you know how to administer.
The PEOT gave me the opportunity to know container handling
operations better," said Sumadchat.
"Aside from having new skills, a hands-on exposure to
our equipment operators' work gave me a better appreciation
of our work here at the terminal," she added.
The PEOT encourages employees to be multi-skilled, that
is for equipment operators to be honed in two or more
types of container-handling equipment, and for office
employees to have technical skills on container handling.
Through the PEOT, an RTG Operator can
train on quay crane operation, and administration employees
can add to their office skills technical know-how on
operating a reach stacker or an RTG. Francis Andrews,
ICTSI senior vice president and MICT general manager,
believes that for MICT's manpower to be world class
and globally competitive, employees should not only
be confined to do what he or she is best at, but also
be knowledgeable in executing skills outside his expertise.
"An employee should not only be an expert in what he
does. Through the PEOT, employees, especially the equipment
operators, are taught how to operate not just one equipment
but two or more equipment," said Andrews.
With training available to everyone, the MICT organization
has become more dynamic: a manager can now operate a
reach stacker, while a human resource officer can back
up as an RTG Operator. "Specialization will still be
there.
But with PEOT, there's more value added as an employee
has extra useful skills," Andrews concluded. ICTSI is
working on the accreditation of PEOT as a certified
training program with the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority.
Container0handling equipment at the MICT
are quay cranes for loading and unloading containers
from vessels; RTGs for hoisting containers onto and
from prime movers within the yard area; prime movers
for transporting containers from the berth area to the
container yard; and a host of other support equipment.
