Manila port decongestion measures detailed

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Atty Agaton Uvero, Tereso Panga and Atty Francisquiel Mancile
Atty Agaton Uvero, Tereso Panga and Atty Francisquiel Mancile
At the recently concluded Cargo Transport Summit 2 were panelists (L to R) Bureau of Customs deputy commissioner Atty Agaton Uvero, Philippine Economic Zone Authority deputy director general Tereso Panga and Philippine Ports Authority South Harbor port manager Atty Francisquiel Mancile.

Philippine government agencies assured transport stakeholders there are measures either being already undertaken or are in the pipeline to address congestion at Manila ports that has resulted from the Manila truck ban.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), for one, said it is actively looking for ways to tackle the issue so that ecozone locators suffering from a slowdown in shipment deliveries do not leave the country “because they cannot receive raw materials”.

At last week’s Cargo Transport Summit 2 organized by the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association and PortCalls and attended by more than 300 delegates, panelist PEZA deputy director general for policy and planning Tereso Panga said ecozone locators, accounting for 75% of the country’s commodity exports, are “one of the most badly affected by this port congestion.”

The problem of empty containers piling up at terminals is an issue that PEZA would like to particularly address, Panga said, by looking to allow “onsite ecozone offdock CY (container yard)” so that locator companies can bring in import shipments and deposit empty containers inside the ecozone.

In addition, Panga said PEZA has notified its locators to pull out 1,000 overstaying containers as well as advised Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon) locators to use Batangas Port and North Luzon locators to utilize Subic Port.

Panga noted that utilization of Batangas and Subic ports had “peaked from 5% to 25%” since the truck ban issue started.

Another option PEZA is looking at, he said, is the Japanese embassy’s suggestion to treat Batangas, Subic and Manila as “common ports” so that whenever there’s congestion in Manila, government can dispatch waiting vessels to the nearest port.

However, the PEZA official said this scheme needs BOC approval due to the change in the shipping manifest.

Summit panelist Bureau of Customs (BOC) deputy commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group Atty. Agaton Teodoro Uvero hinted this may be a difficult proposition since the customs agency does not have the power to command ships to transfer ports, neither does the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) whose mandate is to “regulate ports and not regulate shipping lines”.

Uvero said, “We have to realize there’s no agency focused in the concept of supply chain and logistics management” which will “connect the dots”.

He lamented government agencies tend to have “tunnel vision” when it comes to the supply chain: The Department of Transportation and Communications, he said, is only looking at trucks, PPA at ports, the Department of Trade and Industry at seafreight forwarders; and Civil Aeronautics Board at airfreight forwarders.

The customs official said the private sector should perhaps start pushing for the creation of a government entity that will look at logistics issues in its entirety and create a long-term framework to address all concerns.

 

Serious efforts

But Uvero, the BOC representative in most inter-agency meetings tackling port congestion, confirmed government is “serious” in its bid to address the issue.

He noted actions being taken, first of which was the moratorium on apprehension of trucks without a franchise.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on June 27 issued a one-month moratorium so that truck owners can secure within that period a provisional authority to operate pending application of a franchise.

Second, Uvero said PPA has discounted charges for utilizing Batangas port.

PPA port manager Francisquiel Mancile, another panelist at the Cargo Transport Summit, said the port authority has continued to waive 50% of port charges for Batangas port users and is “thinking of another scheme to attract more shippers to use Batangas”.

Third, 24/7 express lanes have been implemented by both Manila City and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

BOC and Land Bank of the Philippines have also started operating during weekends, Uvero pointed out.

Office hours at certain ports that cater to PEZA shipments have also been extended by the BOC.

The customs executive said there is a plan for BOC to operate 24/7 but this will mean stakeholders will have to adopt the same operating hours.

As for surcharges imposed by foreign shipping lines and the increase in trucking rates as a result of the congestion and how these can be to regulated, Uvero noted there is currently no government agency that regulates operation of international shipping lines in the country while truck charges are “liberalized.”

Meanwhile, PPA is encouraging stakeholders to make use of weekends to pull out cargoes, said PPA’s Mancile.

Uvero said withdrawal of cargoes have in fact started to normalize but admitted the need to fast track the process to tame port overcapacity.

He said if capacity inches lower in two months, “we’ll be back to normal”, assuming there are no new “obstacles.” – Text and photo by Roumina Pablo