THE Chamber of Customs Brokers of the Philippines,
Inc. (CCBI) will take the lead in the soon-to-be filed case
against the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Department of
Finance (DOF) for approving Customs Administrative Order (CAO)
No 3-2006-A.
"CCBI will file the case. We are just fine tuning some
of the aspects of the case but definitely it will be filed,"
Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers (PRBCB)
chair Constantino Calica told <i>PortCalls</i>,
noting that the Board - a government body - has decided not
to act as complainant against two other government agencies
(BOC and DOF) to avoid issues of technicality.
Calica said the Board will meet tomorrow with officials of
CCBI, so far the only accredited professional organization
under the CAO, to finalize the filing of the case against
Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales, Finance Secretary Margarito
Teves and customs accreditation secretariat and legal division
chief Atty. Reynaldo Umali.
He said both PRBCB and CCBI are forced to seek legal remedies
to compel the BOC and DOF to recall the new CAO which they
deem illegal and not in conformance with Republic Act 9280
or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004.
The PRBCB and CCBI oppose the new CAO provisions which allow
customs brokerage corporations and freight forwarding firms
to lodge customs entries and/or use their employee-customs
representatives to transact business at the BOC.
Calica said the complaints have been with a private prosecutor
since last week and are tentatively set to be filed both in
civil court and the Office of the Ombudsman toward end of
the week or by next week.
PRBCB is also looking at other means that will force the BOC
to reconsider implementing the new CAO. Calica said the Board
is also set to meet tomorrow to finalize its own course of
action against the BOC.
RA 9280 signed last March 30, 2004 regulates the practice
of the customs brokers' profession and prohibits corporate
practice of customs brokerage.
Section 29 of the law specifically provides that the customs
broker practice is a professional service and as such, "no
firm, company, or association may be registered or licensed
as such for the practice of customs broker profession".
In addition, Section 28 provides that no person shall practice
or offer to practice the profession, or use the title unless
one is a registered licensed customs broker.
TANKER operators are willing to acquire double-hulled and
double-bottom tankers for the domestic trade as long as there
is support from the government and the oil industry.
Association of Tanker Operators of the Philippines (Atophil)
president Capt. Oscar Orbeta said that with the high cost
of double-hulled tankers and its scarcity in the second-hand
market it will be very difficult to refleet particularly if
government pushes through with its plan to phase out single-hulled
tankers by 2008.
"We need some kind of support from the Government. We,
tanker operators, can not make it alone. The government should
at least reciprocate our efforts by giving incentives to operators,"
Orbeta explained.
An Atophil member last week undertook delivery of its first
double-hulled, double bottom tanker. The second one is expected
by 2008.
The country's largest tanker association, the Philippine Petroleum
Sea Transport Association (Philpesta), is singing the same
tune, saying that double-hulled, double-bottom tankers are
very expensive and that operators need some kind of assurance
that they could get a return on their investments.
Philpesta added its members will be hard pressed to comply
with the new vessel requirement and that many face closure
if forced to do so.
To date, all 120 tankers in the country plying the domestic
trade are single-hulled.
"We cannot just replace our current tankers since the
price of a double-hulled vessel is five times higher than
the single-hulled," Philpesta said.
A new 5,000 deadweight ton double-hulled tanker costs some
$15 million.
Aside from the price, the availability of shipyards that will
make these vessels is also crucial. Foreign shipyards are
fully booked until 2012.
"With price and time constraints, it is very difficult
to comply with the 2008 deadline. But we view the directive
as a positive one as we see now where we are heading,"
Philpesta added.
Last week, President Arroyo asked the country's ship owners
to hasten compliance with an International Maritime Organization
resolution banning all single-hulled tankers by 2008.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is all set to hire value-added
service providers by next month as part of its modernization
program to enhance transaction with the agency.
According to BOC documents, the process of accrediting the
service providers, which would work using the latest technology,
would help the agency to among others prosecute violations
of tariff and customs laws.
The duties of the providers include registration of BOC clients;
lodgment of import (consumption, warehousing, transshipment,
and informal) and export declarations; transmission of raw
materials liquidation information; and transmission of surety
bonds information.
The providers would also be catering to individual and specialized
requirements of importers and exporters.
Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, and
the US have long tapped the private sector to achieve transparency
in the Customs system.
The Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index
has consistently ranked the Philippine BOC as one of the most
corrupt government agencies.
Last July, the Millennium Challenge Corp, a firm owned by
the US government, gave the country $21 million to tackle
corruption in the country's tax and customs administration.
The two-year program is geared toward anti-smuggling efforts.
BOC said it would select the accredited services this month,
test and roll out the system by end of October.
Each of the service providers will have to pay a performance
bond of P5 million and need to maintain a minimum paid-up
capital of P10 million. The companies will undergo a six-month
probationary period, after which they will get a three-year
accreditation. Companies will pay the government an accreditation
fee of P200,000 for the first year and P50,000 for the succeeding
years.
.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is planning to revise its rules
on warehousing to facilitate cargo movement in the country.
"The BOC is looking at revising its warehousing procedures
to facilitate importation and exportation of goods in the
country and the move will definitely make the country's products
competitive in the world market," Customs deputy commissioner
Rey Nicolas said.
Specifically for review are warehousing rates. "Rates
play a vital role in the competitiveness of Philippine products
in the global market that is why we will concentrate more
on how to benchmark these to world standards," Nicolas
stressed.
However, he sees the lack of funds delaying the review of
the procedures. "Funding of the government now is very
limited and we have to go to the process of going to the Congress
to have additional budget for the review but we have alternative
source of funds to purse the project," he said.
But Port Users Confederation, according to Nicolas, has expressed
its desire to finance the project..
THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has
called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to immediately
open the mothballed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)
Terminal 3.
"The business community will throw its full support for
the president's firm action to immediately open the Terminal
for full operation," PCCI president Donald Dee said.
"The issue has dragged on for too long and the opposing
parties must place national interest above their own,"
he added.
He said it is time to move forward and "a strong and
united resolute action will project that businessmen can work
together for the sake of national interest."
