The Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion (CCPC) has set a September 8 deadline for importers and brokers to pull out their Customs-cleared cargoes or face eviction of their shipments from Manila ports.
In a full-page print advertisement published on Sept 1, CCPC warned that cargoes that will not meet the deadline will be “transferred immediately to Subic or Batangas port or any other identified location”. The cost of the transfer “will be shouldered solely by the cargo owner upon release thereof,” CCPC said.
This is one of the government measures to decongest the ports of Manila as the logistics industry gears up for the shipping peak season.
In a press statement, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Juan Sta. Ana explained the measure seeks to further relieve the two Manila ports of overstaying Customs-cleared and ready-to-go containers of “erring importers that use the ports as their virtual warehouses.”
“We already identified and reasonably informed the owners of these containers, which varies from big time to small time, and we will no longer notify them if they fail to meet the September 8 deadline,” Sta. Ana said.
There were 2,500 Customs-cleared containers with gate pass that continued to overstay at the Manila International Container Port, and more than 1,000 such cleared boxes at the Manila South Harbor, according to port operators during a PPA hearing on August 26 about a plan to raise storage charges for overstaying cargoes.
“Please understand that this is not to punish our importers but only to clear as much space as possible in preparation for the influx of cargoes due to the peak season and reduce pressure on inflation,” Sta. Ana explained.
The CCPC has plans to increase storage rates for overstaying Customs-cleared cargoes with gate pass to force cargo owners to pull out their boxes and not to use the ports as their temporary warehouses.
Transfer to Subic
Last week, PPA said a total of 3,000 overstaying containers are set to be transferred to Subic port. An initial 1,154 twenty-foot equivalent units had already been shipped by a chartered vessel on August 28, and the rest expected to be transferred over last weekend.
The government continues to encourage cargo owners to take advantage of slow business on weekends and holidays to withdraw their cargoes. CCPC has assured companies that the Bureau of Customs, PPA, port operators, shipping lines, banks, quarantine and other import- and export-related offices and agencies will be open on these days to process their transactions. — Roumina Pablo
