The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to establish a Supply Chain and Logistics Advisory Council (SCLAC) that will oversee and monitor the implementation of the country’s first National Logistics Plan (NLP).
Set for launch in April, the NLP—being crafted by DTI in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development Advancing Philippine Competitiveness (USAID-COMPETE)—is envisioned as the development guide for the national transportation and logistics sector.
USAID COMPETE is still working on the first draft of the NPL but DTI targets its implementation in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The creation of the advisory body that will ensure programs and activities proposed in the NLP are carried out was recently decided in a meeting between DTI, represented by its Competitiveness Bureau and its Supply Chain and Logistics Management Division (SCLMD), and representatives from different government agencies involved in logistics and trade.
The group opted to form an advisory council rather than create a taskforce through an executive or administrative order, considering the impending change of administration by middle of the year and the time needed to get an EO.
The proposed SCLAC will function as a joint committee between the National Competitiveness Council and Export Development Council, both under DTI and each having its respective transport and logistics committees. SCLMD will act as the secretariat.
The council will be composed of public and private chairs and representatives from both government and private sector.
On the government side are those from the DTI, Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Finance, Department of Tourism, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and Department of Interior and Local Government.
Representatives from the private sector will come from various industry associations.
SCLAC will conduct regular meetings to aid government in advancing programs of action, and will submit to the Cabinet Economic Cluster policy recommendations and other program-specific actions.
4 focus areas
Dr. Enrico Basilio, USAID COMPETE chief of party, said the NPL is divided into four focus areas: infrastructure, regulation, institution, and policies.
For infrastructure, recommendations include the expansion and improvement of existing transport infrastructure, construction of new ones, and pavement of national as well as provincial and municipal roads.
USAID COMPETE also divided recommendations for airports and ports into infrastructure projects that support cargoes and those that support tourism.
For airfreight, the NLP proposes that key airports, such as those in Manila, Cebu, General Santos, and Davao, be expanded, modernized, or rehabilitated.
In support of tourism, Basilio said the DOT has identified priority airports that need attending and new ones to be developed.
For ports, NLP endorses modernizing select domestic ports as regional hubs, an idea suggested by domestic shipping lines.
Basilio noted that with the upgrade of Manila’s North Port, productivity at the terminal has increased significantly, but the gains are lost whenever domestic liners call outports with inadequate facilities.
Basilio cited the importance of developing Cebu port, now operating at capacity, as well as Mindanao Container Terminal, which is at 67% capacity.
Moreover, the masterplan will push for the expansion of Batangas and Subic ports, as they too will reach full capacity within the next two to three years.
Davao-Sasa port, meanwhile, can be developed as a domestic and cruise hub, Basilio said. He noted the “private sector has overtaken the government” in constructing ports in Davao at no cost to the government, which in turn could “just encourage the private sector to invest” in such projects.
Another proposal is to expand the country’s roll-on/roll-off network and use more public-private partnership projects to “tap the resources and expertise” of the private sector. It is also suggested that the country’s infrastructure be climate-change resilient.
Policy proposals
Recommendations on the policy side include the need to legislate a national transport policy. Basilio said the Australian Agency for International Development has already drafted an executive order to create the policy but that this has yet to be signed.
“We need this to start implementing the hierarchy of transport systems that need to be implemented in the rural and urban areas,” Basilio said.
The NLP is also pushing for an omnibus maritime code to update the country’s maritime laws and comply with International Maritime Organization commitments. Basilio said the government of Sweden had previously assisted the country in creating its omnibus maritime code, but this has also not been signed.
As for the air transport side, the NLP bats for the implementation of a dual airport system involving Manila and Clark, with upcoming infrastructure development in the two hubs to be guided by the system.
The dual airport system for Manila and Clark has long been advocated by the private sector, as well as the Clark International Airport Authority, but DOTC has not yet acted on the suggestion.
Moreover, the NLP is calling for the amendment of Executive Order No. 170, which promotes the investment and development of the country’s Ro-Ro terminal systems, to include the chassis-Ro-Ro system. Basilio noted that Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has already endorsed this to President Benigno Aquino III but it is yet to be signed.
The NLP also underscores the need to amend the Public Service Act and to “revisit on what constitutes public utilities,” Basilio said.
The masterplan aims to address the “conflicting mandates” of regulatory bodies such as the PPA and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, both of which exercise regulatory and commercial functions.
Furthermore, the country must support its international commitments to promote regional connectivity.
Regulatory suggestions
As for the regulatory segment of the NLP, recommendations include the “political will to implement the anti-overloading law,” Basilio said.
“Of course it will increase costs initially, it will disrupt our logistics operations, but I think in the long run it will do us more good,” he added.
The Anti-Overloading Law, or Republic Act No. 8794, is not being fully implemented because majority of the country’s current fleet is not compliant with requirements of the law.
For airports, the masterplan urges equipping regional airports with air navigation facilities that will allow night-time and early morning flights, and prevent congestion of aircraft during daytime.
The recommendations will still be submitted for consultations with stakeholders and the private sector. The NPL partly uses as a guide the Philippine Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Roadmap, the private sector-led plan spearheaded by the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association, Inc. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
