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Fears about the container registry and monitoring system are premature, according to Philippine Ports Authority general manager Jay Daniel Santiago
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Santiago said there are no implementing rules yet on the system
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Stakeholders oppose the CRMS which they claim will prolong the flow of foreign containers, increase logistics costs and duplicate monitoring systems already in place for containers
Fears about the container registry and monitoring system (CRMS) are premature, according to Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Jay Daniel Santiago.
“Wala pa pong (There are no) implementing operating guidelines so lahat ng opposition, lahat ng apprehension, lahat ng fear as far as PPA is concerned, wala pang basis as of now ‘yan. Kasi hindi pa naman ini-implement at binubuo pa lang yung mekanismo (so all opposition, apprehension, fears are without basis as of now… and mechanisms are still being formulated). We are jumping the gun on what the system is,” Santiago said in a press briefing on December 16, adding that the agency is open to suggestions for system improvement.
Stakeholders are opposing the CRMS which they claim will prolong the flow of foreign containers, increase logistics costs and duplicate monitoring systems already in place for containers.
CRMS, contained in PPA Administrative Order No. 04-2021, is a system for the registry and monitoring of containers entering and leaving PPA ports, including the scheduling, loading, unloading, release, and movement of all containers.
PPA to require registration of foreign boxes, container insurance
Under AO 04-2021, all containers are required to register in the system to be adopted by PPA and to secure a container insurance policy. The insurance policy will be used instead of the container deposit and container maintenance fees being required by international shipping lines “to protect local importers from additional transaction costs.”
PPA first proposed the system in June 2021 in a public hearing with some stakeholders, who early on voiced their concerns. Still, PPA issued AO 04-2021 in October that year and sought bids in March 2022 for the P980-million contract for the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS) and Empty Container Storage Shared Service Facility.
The project covered the supply, delivery of full technology stack, financing, technical implementation services, and managed services to successfully implement the TOP-CRMS of PPA.
A joint venture of NextIX Inc. and Shiptek Solutions Corp. was the lone bidder for the project, winning on a P877.6-billion bid offer. The award of contract was signed in April 2022 and the notice to proceed issued the month after.
PPA awards P877.6M container monitoring contract to joint venture
The initially scheduled May 11 public consultation did not push through; it was rescheduled for December 15 but rescheduled anew to January 4, 2023.
Santiago said the reschedule would give stakeholders time to study the system, noting that PPA decided to conduct focus group discussions first per sector. PortCalls sources confirmed they were invited by PPA to meetings on CRMS several weeks ago.
Santiago said due to stakeholders’ opposition, he has tasked the CRMS steering committee to conduct focus group discussions before the January 4 public consultation.
He acknowledged that truckers, shipping lines, importers, and customs brokers may have different concerns about the system so he instructed the steering committee to try to address individual sectors’ concerns first instead of sorting out all issues in one go during the consultation.
Trucking groups earlier said they were never invited to any of the public hearings on CRMS.
Some stakeholders also complained about the insurance fee required by the system. But Santiago said the insurance fee addresses the issue of slow return of container deposits by foreign shipping lines, which, he noted, stakeholders has been asking the government to fix.
He noted PPA has been hearing complaints about container deposits since he became PPA chief in 2016. The issue, he said, is one of the concerns received by the Shippers’ Protection Office, which was created in 2020.
“[The solution is] number one, there has to be intervention whether from government or another party to mediate between the shipping line and the importer to reduce his importation cost, his shipping cost by eliminating container deposit,” Santiago explained, pointing to lost opportunity on the part of the importer or customs broker whenever their container deposit is not returned promptly.
He assured that the payment for TOP-CRMS “will be less” than what the stakeholder will lose if the container deposit stays unreturned for months.
Santiago said TOP-CRMS will help address congestion inside port terminals as two staging areas will be opened in Bulacan and Laguna where empty containers can stay while awaiting re-exportation.
He said this will also free up ground slots inside the terminals that can be used for more loaded containers.
The bidding documents’ terms of reference for TOP-CRMS requires the winning bidder to provide a tagging area that will be used as a container staging facility or container depot for re-exporting empty boxes.
The PPA chief said he hopes they will be given the opportunity to present the system “objectively” during the January 4 public consultation and assured they are open to suggestions to improve the system.
“But ultimately, the only intention really is to lessen the burden [of the] logistics cost [that had long been complained about,” he added.
On Shiptek chief executive Eugenio Ynion Jr.’s earlier statement that they hope to go live with the system by February 2023, Santiago said this will depend on the outcome of the January 4 public consultation.
If there are no issues about the system, it can run by February 1, he said; but if there are concerns, Santiago said PPA is open to moving the target to accommodate “reasonable concerns” from stakeholders and make sure the system will run “in accordance with everyone’s expectation.” – Roumina Pablo
