Batangas still unattractive to carriers due to poor infra
INTERNATIONAL carriers will continue to shun
Batangas Port unless the government delivers the needed infrastructure
within the area, said Octavio Katigbak, president of K-Line
Philippines.
ÒShipping lines are market driven. They will only call
where there is a market. The problem with Batangas right now
is that it lacks traffic aggravated by poor infrastructure
outside the port,Ó Katigbak, who was recently re-elected
president of the Association of International Shipping Lines,
told PortCalls.
Katigbak said Batangas’ wide cargo areas are for now
attractive only to the car industry.
K-Line deploys its car carriers to Batangas thrice a month.
The Japan-based shipping line has no plans to deploy other
ships to the port.
The few other international carriers calling Batangas do so
once every two weeks.
ÒWe want Batangas to have the right infrastructure
particularly port-to-market roads and we want (infrastructure
development) at a faster pace before we consider having more
calls at the port,Ó Katigbak said.
Batangas Port is one of 10 ports being groomed by the Philippine
Ports Authority (PPA) to have world-class standards by 2010.
It is also seen as one of the major transshipment hubs in
Asia competing with the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong.
This year, it is expected to corner at least 10% of the estimated
400-million annual containerized cargo volume in Asia.
Batangas has a container yard of 15 hectares, berth depth
that can be expanded to 13.5 meters, total handling capacity
of 400,000 TEUs, berth length of 470 meters, and access and
service road of about four kilometers. It can handle two panamax
ships.
The port is also designed for businesses along the Calabarzon
area and seen as an alternative port to congested Manila.
However, since its commissioning in September 2005, Batangas
port remains idle due to the lack of cargo handling equipment.
Toward the end of the year, the PPA is expected to accept
delivery of two quay cranes, four rubber-tired gantries and
a mobile scanning unit.
The PPA also expects a new private operator for the facility
by June this year.
THE accumulation of abandoned or overstaying
cargoes and the failure of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to
issue policies on these cargoes have hampered container growth
in the country.
The situation has caused choke points in major ports, significantly
slowed down the movement of cargoes and increased turnaround
time for carriers resulting in higher overhead cost.
ÒBOC should immediately dispose of these cargoes, get
the most out of their economic value and free spaces for other
cargoes. Overstaying containers really hamper operations of
carriers as vessels are used as warehouses until cargoes are
auctioned,Ó said Association of International Shipping
Lines (AISL) general manager Atty. Max Cruz.
ÒThe BOC should also revise its auction procedure from
prioritizing high-value goods to a first-in first-out system
in order not to accumulate condemned cargoes and create another
choke point,Ó Cruz stressed.
According to Cruz, condemned cargoes are now piling up due
to the failure of the BOC to auction them before their economic
use runs out. The situation is aggravated by the lack of environmentally-compliant
sites for disposal for condemned cargoes.
ÒUnless there is a streamlined provision on abandoned
or overstaying cargoes, this problem will linger,Ó
he stressed.
AISL is seeking an audience with the BOC to discuss overstaying
cargoes and how to speed up their disposal.
The association is also negotiating with the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources for ample space for condemned
cargo.
The BOC is presently speeding up auction of unclaimed cargoes
but still prioritizing disposal of high-end products in a
bid to increase collection. Based on BOC records, there are
about a thousand unclaimed cargoes in its premises on each
of the major gateways. The items range from textiles, garments,
cigarettes, vegetables, information technology materials and
luxury cars that when sold in favor of the government will
yield millions of pesos that will help boost BOC revenue collection.
The House of Representatives, meanwhile, is pushing for the
revision of the 37-year old BOC operational manual for trade
facilitation which will address the issue on unclaimed cargoes.
Earlier, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI)
said abandoned or overstaying cargoes have caused congestion
in major ports leading to inefficiency and inability of ports
to accommodate more cargoes.
The congestion of ports, ICTSI said, is one of the major reasons
for the slow entry of more cargoes to the Philippines.
THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is concentrating
on the development of the soon-to-be privatized Batangas Port.
The port is being eyed as a major transshipment hub in Asia
handling 10% of the 400-million annual containerized traffic
in the region this year.
According to the PPA, its emphasis is on the installation
of security equipment to guarantee that the port is secure
and not prone to any acts of terrorism, and to minimize human
error at sea.
Among the security equipment that will be installed are a
Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS), mobile scanning unit
for rolling cargoes, and the non-intrusive container scanner
to be provided by the Bureau of Customs.
The PPA is awaiting the release of funds this month for the
VTMS project from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation
(JBIC). The P300-million budget is part of the P5.5-billion
loan from the JBIC to develop Batangas Port.
The VTMS project includes the purchase of one patrol boat
instead of two that the PPA originally wanted and the mobile
cargo scanner for its roll on-roll off operations. It also
includes the acquisition of four radars to cover Batangas
and Balayan Bay areas.
The mobile scanning unit will be complemented by other security
devices such as close-circuit TVs. The scanner is expected
to be installed toward the third quarter of the year.
The non-intrusive container scanning unit has already been
installed by customs authorities.
The PPA expects that with these equipment in place, Batangas
Port will attract more major callers to bring in more cargoes.
THE Professional Regulatory Board for Customs
Brokers (PRBCB) has started hearing cases involving alleged
violations of Republic Act 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act
of 2004 even as the Philippine Congress is moving toward amending
the law.
PRBCB is now hearing the case against Airlift Asia Customs
Brokerage Inc. (AACBI) lodged by the Professional Customs
Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCBAPI). PCBAPI
has accused AACBI of violating RA 9280’s prohibition
on corporate practice in the customs brokerage profession
by preparing documents of different imported articles as a
corporation.
PRBCB chair Constantino Calica told PortCalls the board is
pushing though with the hearings until the proposed amendment
is approved and signed into law.
He said the board is now focusing its attention on supposedly
errant brokers who continue to violate RA 9280. ÒWe
have started deliberating on the complaints filed by brokers
against corporations that continue to prepare documents to
clear cargoes despite repeated rulings barring corporate practice
of the profession,Ó Calica explained.
The complaints center on violation of Sections 28 and 29 of
RA 9280 as well as PRBCB 2006 memorandum circulars 9 and 10.
Calica, however, declined to give details on the status of
the case but stressed that PRBCB will implement the full force
of the law once corporations are proven to have violated RA
9280.
Aside from the AACBI case seven to 10 complaints, all involving
corporate practice, are pending before the PRBCB for hearing
and resolution.
Violators of the law will be fined from P5,000 to P500,000
and may also face cancellation of license and imprisonment.
Earlier, a separate case was filed in a civilian court by
broker Virgilio Laudit, a member of the PCBAPI, against AACBI
based on the same arguments filed against the company at the
PRBCB. Laudit’s case has since been dismissed for lack
of merit.
RA 9280 enacted on March 30, 2004 regulates the practice of
the customs brokers profession. Section 29 of the law 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.
Section 28 also provides that no person shall practice or
offer to practice the profession, or use the title unless
one is a registered licensed customs broker.
The PRBCB, in its interpretation of the law, said customs
brokers may not be employed by corporations as they will lose
their impartiality.
However, Customs Administrative Order 3-2006-A which operationalizes
RA 9280 at the BOC, authorized customs brokerage corporations
and freight for-warding firms to lodge customs entries and/or
use their employee-customs represen-tatives to transact business
at the BOC.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is adopting a
good risk management monitoring scheme instead of procuring
x-ray machines to monitor cross-border transfer of Philippine
currency.
ÒWe no longer need to ask the passengers to bring their
wallets and count their money before they board. They just
have to declare the amounts they carry which are in excess
of P10,000 or its equivalent in other currency,Ó he
said.
ÒThere is a new technology which uses an x-ray machine
that when a person passes through, you can see all, as in
everything including the delicate parts. But I said no, we
don’t want. It’s a violation of privacy and many
human rights advocates will surely protest,Ó Morales
added.
ÒInstead, we will have good risk management, which
includes profiling and random checking to support trade facilitation
and not hamper transportation,Ó he stressed.
Trade facilitation is a primary concern of member nations
of the World Trade Organization and World Customs Organization
(WCO), where the Philippines is a member.
The WCO espouses uniformity of core Customs procedures among
its member nations through the single administrative document.
The BOC is now preparing Customs personnel with the help of
US Customs experts in conducting a series of training workshops
on physical cross-border transport of currencies.
The BOC was tasked to monitor, conduct examination, apprehend
and forfeit currencies in excess of P10,000 or its equivalent
in other currency as prescribed by law.
All cash and foreign exchange-denominated bearer monetary
instrument in excess of the P10,000 should be declared in
the Customs declaration form at the Customs arrival or departure
area.
The BOC may check the baggage in the presence of the departing
and arriving passengers and the screening officer. The BOC
examiner on duty will inform the flight supervisor or duty
collector, or the Customs collector, in case of a violation.
Any person found to be taking out of the country currency
in excess of P10,000 without prior authority from the BSP
shall be charged in court.
