Northern Mindanao’s private sector is pushing for the return inside the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) of the X-ray inspection service, saying the current practice of doing this outside of the MCT premises is a source of additional charges for shippers and may be an avenue for corruption.
In a recent letter sent to Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla, PIE-MO (Phividec Industrial Estate-Misamis Oriental) Industries Association transmitted a petition it signed along with various other business organizations in Northern Mindanao, which included the recommendation to locate the designated examination area (DEA) within the MCT.
The same petition was submitted to President Benigno Aquino III and other government agencies concerned. Signatories include Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Northern Mindanao), Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries, Cagayan de Oro Fil-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Misamis Oriental Fil-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Philippine Exporters Confederation Region 10.
The petition was a result of the Mindanao Shipping Conference organized by PortCalls in Cagayan de Oro City in June.
The business groups pointed out that inspection at MCT is conducted by a private entity in a private area outside the port premises.
Under Executive Order No. 592 signed on 2006 and which established the non-intrusive container inspection system, X-ray inspections should be confined inside the port area, they said.
MCT is the lone Philippine port with an inspection area outside of the terminal, an arrangement the group claimed makes it “prone to corruption.”
The petition to situate x-ray machines within MCT stems from claims of alleged irregularities being experienced by port users in the DEA, which was placed outside the MCT during the term of former Customs commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon.
The DEA is covered by an agreement signed by the BOC and the private operator.
PortCalls sources said some shipments are being scrutinized at the DEA, even those accredited under the green or super green lane (SGL) program. And while each examination reportedly costs P10,000 per container, BOC-MCT does not earn from these examinations; it only collects rental from the DEA operator.
The business groups are therefore advocating that no further inspection, unless warranted, be conducted on cargoes under the SGL program, citing CMO 1-2011 that gives priority clearance to cargoes of accredited SGL importers.
The Northern Mindanao stakeholders also suggest that the government shoulder the cost of the proposed load port survey on containerized cargoes. They said the private sector is requesting that this “additional importation cost be borne by government, as was the case from 1987 to 2001” for bulk and breakbulk.
However, BOC Deputy Commissioner Atty. Agaton Teodoro Uvero of the Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, who attended the Mindanao Shipping Conference, said this was “not doable,” but added that the agency was looking at ways to make the rates reasonable, and identifying possible sources of savings to offset the cost of the load port survey.
On another note, the business groups said they are grateful for the improved processing of importer and customs broker accreditation under CMO 11-2014, but suggested the “need for the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and BOC to actively share information to eliminate unnecessary data requirements.”
Furthermore, the groups are asking government to declare MCT as a principal port of entry with plantilla position personnel.
They noted that MCT contributed 88.8% of Northern Mindanao’s collection of P1.97 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
Currently, MCT is considered a sub-port without a plantilla.
The groups also requested for a policy outlining the disposal of abandoned cargoes within a reasonable period of time to avoid congestion inside the yards.
Earlier, Augustus Adis, president of PIE-MO Industries Association, said overstaying and abandoned cargoes in the container yard have brought about “congestion, lost cargo revenues, and opportunity losses from unused containers.”– Roumina Pablo
