North Harbor truckers to adjust fees starting July
NORTH Harbor truckers are implementing an 8% recovery
surcharge and a 10% automatic fuel rate adjustment starting
next month to reduce the impact of rising fuel costs on operations.
The Integrated North Harbor Truckers Association, WGA Truckers
Association and the Allied Trucking Group - collectively known
as the Alliance of North Harbor Truckers Association - said they
can no longer bear the brunt of high fuel costs which they claim
to have been subsidizing in the past two years.
Since 2006, truckers have been charging a P5,100 fee
per 20-footer within the 40-km National Capital Region (NCR) radius.
"The oil companies have been implementing the recovery cost scheme,
under the Oil Deregulation Law, while shipping lines also increased
their bunker surcharge to 13% at the start of the month and the GRI
(general rate increase) Recovery Adjustment effective today (June 16),"
the truckers said in their petition for rate increase.
"In fairness therefore, we have to make the immediate adjustments in
order to survive and be able to provide and ensure efficient trucking
services," the group added.
Starting July 1, truckers will be adding a recovery surcharge of
P284 for 10-footer containers, P405 for 20-footers, and P688.50
for 40-footers or the tandem scheme within the NCR 40-km radius
round trip services. This is equivalent to a P10.13 per kilometer
increase based on the 40-km radius exclusive of the expanded
value-added tax (EVAT).
For provincial routes, an additional P10 surcharge multiplied by
distances used in the Philippine Liner Shipping Association
matrix will be implemented.
For the automatic fuel rate adjustment, an addi-tional P196 will
also be adopted in the deli-very of 10-footer containers, P153.35
for 20-footers, and P260.70 for 40-footers or the tandem scheme.
In total, shippers will have to shell out P480 for 10-footers,
P685 for 20-footers, and P1,164 for 40-footers within the
40-km radius starting July 1. All rates are exclusive of the EVAT.
For every P5 increase in diesel price from July 1, shippers will pay
an additional P107.35, P153.35 and P260.70 for each 10-footer, 20-footer
and 40-footer, respectively.
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Domestic carriers adopt GRI to offset higher costs
LOCAL shipping lines are implementing a general rate
increase (GRI)-the first since 2005-to ward off effects
of higher fuel, labor and other operating expenses as well
as a weak peso.
Starting today (June 16), Oceanic, Lorenzo, Negros Navigation,
Sulpicio Lines, Solid Lines and NMC Container Lines-all members
of the Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA)-are enforcing
a 10% increase on their rates on top of the 13% bunker fuel
surcharge they have started to implement at the start of the month.
"Shipping lines are really having a hard time coping with the current
economic conditions," a PLSA official told PortCalls. "The rate increase
is only minimal and justified considering it has been three years since
PLSA members hiked their rates," the source added.
He added the lines are unable to subsidize the higher wages sanctioned
by government last month while the depreciation of the Philippine peso
has affected imports of spare parts needed for vessel drydocking.
Meanwhile, truckers and mini-van operators last week joined their
foreign counterparts in protesting against high oil prices.
On June 12, hundreds of trucks and mini-vans blocked roads leading
to Malaca?ang to demand the lifting of the sales tax on fuel products.
The protesters, led by the Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawa sa Transportation,
called on President Arroyo to remove the 12% value-added tax on all
petroleum-based products and to provide more subsidies to the poor.
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Non-compliance costs CCBI its APO status
THE Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has stripped
the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc (CCBI) of its accredited
professional organization (APO) status for failure to comply
with renewal requirements.
CCBI's accreditation expired on December 5, 2007.
A Philippine Association of Professional Regulatory Board
Members, Inc (PAPRB) review noted the CCBI petition for
accreditation renewal was wanting in two respects: the
copy of the financial statement submitted to the Securities
and Exchange Commission was signed by a non-accredited
certified public accountant by the Board of Accountancy
of the Commission; and the list of members indicating their
PRC registration numbers and dates of registration was incomplete.
PAPRB was deputized by the PRC to receive and evaluate the completeness
of documents submitted by various APOs in the renewal of their PRC accreditation.
Based on Rule 3, Renewal of Accreditation of Resolution No. 2004-178, PRC ruled that
CCBI was in default in the submission of its petition as this was filed only on April 25, 2007.
PRC said the chamber should renew its Certificate of Accreditation once
every three years after the dates of the Resolution, that is on or
before January 29, 2007 since the Resolution was issued by the
Commission on January 29, 2004.
"Wherefore, the Commission hereby resolves to deny the
petition of CCBI for the renewal of its accreditation,"
PRC said in an order signed by its three commissioners -
Leonor Tripon-Rosero, Ruth Ra?a-Padilla and Nilo L. Rosas.
CCBI has filed a motion for reconsideration with the PRC
to reverse the decision, which it said was made on a mere technicality.
"We will fight this issue even to the courts. But as of now, we will go
through the process of convincing the PRC to reverse its decision and
issue the re-accreditation of the CCBI as APO under Republic Act 9280
or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004," CCBI president Roland Quiambao
told PortCalls.
"The PRC has only denied our petition but has yet to accredit a new
APO so the door is still open for us," he said.
Quiambao added the CCBI has already rectified the issues raised against it by the PRC.
To date, only the petition filed by the Professional Customs Brokers
Association of the Philippines (PCBAPI) to be the next APO fir customs
brokers has been tabled for consideration by the PRC.
Since the passage of Republic Act 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004,
several customs brokers' associations have questioned the legal personality
of CCBI's appointment as the APO for brokers.
In December, PCBAPI and its allies - the National Customs Brokerage
Association of the Philippines, and the Visayas-Mindanao Customs
Brokers Association -requested the PRC to accredit their group as
the next APO, claiming the CCBI accreditation has already expired on December 5.
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Forwarders push for flexibility in new capital requirements
THE Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association
(PISFA) continues to bat for greater flexibility in complying
with new capital requirements implemented by the Philippine
Shippers' Bureau (PSB).
For one, it said the PSB should order a blanket extension for
a specific period of time for all players instead of allowing
extensions on a per request basis.
It may be recalled that in January 2006, the PSB increased the
capital requirement to P4 million for both existing and new
players in the freight forwarding business to weed out
fly-by-night companies. Since then, the bureau has been
strictly implementing a "no SEC (Securities and Exchange
Commission) certification, no accreditation" policy among
freight forwarders to guarantee compliance with the new capital
requirements.
PISFA president Dexter Yu told PortCalls the blanket extension
will provide forwarders time to source the needed capital and
comply with documentary requirements while maintaining smooth operations.
"We really would like to have the flexibility as our members are having a
hard time complying with the strict requirements implemented by the PSB," Yu said.
He said some forwarders face operational disruptions because they cannot
transact with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which requires the PSB accreditation.
"However, if PSB does not want to extend any flexibility in the renewal of accreditation
then we have to no choice but to adhere to the rules," Yu stressed.
Based on Administrative Order No. 6, series of 2006, by January 2, 2008,
all new entrants in the freight forwarding business either non-vessel
operating common carrier (NVOCC), international freight forwarder (IFF)
or domestic freight forwarder (DFF) should have complied with the new
capitalization requirement for their respective category.
Existing NVOCCs have until January 2, 2009 to comply with the new
capitalization requirement. However, 50% of the new capital should
have complied with by January 3, 2008 and the remaining 50% a year later.
Existing DFFs are given until January 2, 2009 to comply with the new
requirement of P1 million from the previous P250,000.
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InterCommerce working on BOC E2M Phase II project
BUREAU of Customs (BOC)-accredited value-added service provider
(VASP) InterCommerce Network Service (INS) will begin this week
a parallel run for Phase II of BOC's electronic-to-mobile (E2M)
project.
In an interview at the sidelines of last week's Partnerships
at Work event organized by the Philippine International Seafreight
Forwarders Association, INS president Francis Lopez told PortCalls
the parallel run will only involve the client profile registration
system (CPRS) and electronic submission of the advance inward foreign
manifest (IFM) and import entries at the Port of Batangas.
"Manual submission will, however, still be allowed maybe in the next couple
of days to prepare for the full migration to the electronic process," Lopez said.
Originally, Phase II of E2M was scheduled for full implementation within the first
quarter of the year. It covers the CPRS, electronic license and clearance system,
electronic payment system and online release system.
Phase III covers export automatic lodgment, raw material liquidation,
and bonds management system, among others. Its implementation, scheduled
last April, has also been postponed with the delay in Phase II.
Phase II is expected to rekindle the contentious issue of who may lodge entries with VASPs.
The BOC accreditation secretariat earlier said it will only allow individual
licensed brokers and general professional partnerships - and not corportations
and customs brokerage houses - to register with their VASPs.
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BOC May collection overshoots target by 5%
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) exceeded its target
collection for May by almost 5%, thanks to the higher collection of
duties from imported oil and the weakening Philippine peso.
Still, the increase was 2% less than the five-month target
of P94.4 billion. The five-month collection hit P92.6 billion.
BOC data showed that the May collection reached P22 billion,
P1 billion more than the P21-billion goal for the month.
With the surplus, the BOC has reduced its P2.8 billion
shortfall in the first four months of the year to P1.8 billion.
The January-April collection was P70.6 billion compared with the P73.4-billion target.
The peso, which ended 2007 at around 41 to the dollar, is trading at more than 44 to
the dollar amid worsening economic conditions brought about by rising oil prices.
BOC's full-year goal of P254 billion so far looks attainable, given the current
peso-dollar exchange rate and surging oil prices in the world market, the bureau said.
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Maersk beefs up Mindanao service with additional ships
MAERSK Line Philippines recently introduced two new vessels
for its Mindanao service, the sisterships Stadt Jena and Warnow Dolphin.
"We have upgraded our feeder size significantly to cater to our customers'
increased demand for container transport," said Maersk Line Philippines
country manager Jesper Dalgaard Larsen.
This will also allow the carrier to service new markets as it begins
to cater to all industries instead of just predominantly the agriculture sector.
"The upgrade was already completed early this month when the last of the two
new vessels called in Mindanao," Larsen said.
Each of the new vessels has a maximum capacity of
1,296 TEUs. Both were built in 2007 and are flagged in Antigua and Barbuda.
Vessels call at the ports of Manila, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos,
Davao, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong.
This year, Maersk Line Philippines expects to post a modest growth in
exports from Mindanao, supplied particularly by foreign-controlled
firms Del Monte and Dole.
For the past few years, Maersk Line along with some other carriers
have been expanding, albeit slowly, their Mindanao services to get a
larger chunk of the export market, particularly for bananas.
The slow pace of expansion is a direct result, they said, of
inadequate port facilities in the area. This, they added,
lead to their inability to deploy freighters that can accommodate
larger volumes and reduce turnaround time.
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ICTSI, Phividec ink Mindanao Container Terminal concession
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and the Phividec Industrial
Authority (PIA) officially sealed a 25-year concession to operate the Mindanano
Container Terminal (MCT) in a recent signing ceremony. The MCT, a 270,000-TEU
capacity container handling facility, is located at the Phividec Industrial
Estate in Tagaloan, Misamis Oriental in Southern Philippines, and is the
latest addition to ICTSI's growing terminal portfolio. Photo shows Manuel
de Jesus (second from left), ICTSI director for business development-Asia,
and Nimfa Vialong-Albania (third from left), PIA administrator, shaking
hands after signing the concession agreement. With them are Col. Emmanuel
V. De Ocampo (far left), PIA chairman, and Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI
chairman and president.
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