DTI: Marina may regulate foreign liners’ local charges

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BOC_alertThere is legal basis for the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to regulate local charges of international carriers, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

DTI Consumer Protection Group Undersecretary Atty. Victorio Mario Dimagiba, in a letter to Marina administrator Dr. Maximo Mejia, Jr. last May, said “We checked different laws pertaining to the mandate of Marina and there appears to be legal basis for Marina to regulate and determine the reasonableness of local shipping charges of foreign shipping lines.”

Dimagiba said he wrote Marina in view of complaints of shippers on the “excessive and unreasonable local shipping charges collected by the international shipping lines.” These complaints grew loudest when Manila ports suffered congestion triggered by the imposition of the Manila daytime truck ban.

These local charges include container deposit fee, container cleaning fee, container detention charge, port congestion surcharge, and emergency cost recovery surcharge, Dimagiba said.

“Those local shipping charges collected due to port congestion have materially affected the competitiveness of the local business,” he added.

The review of Marina’s mandate to determine if it has legal powers to regulate local shipping charges was one of the actions agreed upon in a meeting on April 30 among DTI, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Export Development Council, foreign shipping lines, truckers, and importers.

Dimagiba, in a text message to PortCalls on June 9, said Marina has not yet responded to his letter.

In his letter, Dimagiba cited the following laws as buttressing his claims that Marina has jurisdiction over local charges of international lines: Sections 2 (b), 2 (c), 3 (a), 3 (b), 3 (c), 6 (k), and 12 (e) of Presidential Decree (PD) 474; Sections 12 (a) and 12 (h) of Executive Order No. 125A; I Section 2 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9215; and Item 1(2) of Marina Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 186-2003.

PD 474, signed by former president Ferdinand Marcos, created Marina. Under Sections 2 (b) and 2 (c), Marina should “provide for the economical, safe, adequate and efficient shipment of raw materials, products, commodities and people;” and to “enhance the competitive position of Philippine flag vessels in the carriage of foreign trade.”

Section 3 a-c, on the other hand, provides the definition of terms and the coverage of Marina’s mandate, while Section 6 (k) states that that Marina “perform such acts as are proper and necessary to implement this Decree.”

Section 12 (e), meanwhile, provides that Marina “investigate by itself or with the assistance of other appropriate government agencies or officials, or experts from the private sector, any matter within its jurisdiction, except marine casualties or accidents which shall be undertaken by the Philippine Coast Guard.”

EO 125A, issued in 1987, reorganizes the Ministry of Transportation and defines its roles and functions. Under  Section 12 (a), Marina’s functions are to “develop and formulate plans, policies, programs, projects, standards, specifications and guidelines geared toward the promotion and development of the maritime industry, the growth and effective regulation of shipping enterprises, and for the national security objectives of the country.”

Section 12 (h) states that Marina should “determine, fix and/or prescribe charges and/or rates pertinent to the operation of public water transport utilities, facilities and services except in cases where charges or rates are established by international bodies or associations of which the Philippines is a participating member or by bodies or associations recognized by the Philippine Government as the proper arbiter of such charges or rates.”

RA 9515, which defines the liability of ship agents in the tramp service, states that “the responsibility or liability, if any, of the ship agent, general agent and tramp agent shall continue to be governed by the pertinent provisions of the Code of Commerce… it is the duty of the tramp agent, however, to assist the shipper or receiver in making cargo liability claims against the ship owner, charterer or carrier… that failure or inaction to perform the aforesaid duty shall subject the tramp agent to applicable administrative sanctions based on the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) to be formulated thereon by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) under the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and by the Philippine Shippers Bureau (PSB) under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).”

Meanwhile, I Section 2 of MC 186, which provides rules for accreditation of maritime enterprises, states that the objective is “to regulate and supervise maritime enterprises with the end in view of formulating policies and programs that will encourage investments in maritime-based activities thereby support the shipping industry.”

Market forces

Earlier, Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL) general manager Atty. Maximino Cruz told PortCalls that regulating foreign carriers may impact on industry competitiveness.

“It might discourage shipping lines” and push them to skip or leave the country “because of an anti-competitive environment,” Cruz said.

He noted “the lines always believe in market forces.”

Ernesto Ordoñez, who represented the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the April 30 meeting, said they don’t want to regulate carrier charges as they believe in a free market, but that there is such a thing as “fair charges.” – Roumina Pablo