The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) recently submitted to President Benigno Aquino III a 14-page wish list detailing its policy recommendations to the government. The list covers 13 areas, including transportation and logistics.
At the close of the 38th Philippine Business Conference and Expo, PCCI pushed for the passage of the anti-smuggling bill and the mandatory filing of the inward foreign manifest of shipping lines and import entry documents.
It also urged the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to provide updated and accurate reference values based on private-sector inputs; assure the authenticity and credibility of registered warehouses; encourage the assistance of the private sector in case preparation and prosecution; and reinstitute a public-private anti-smuggling group similar to the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Anti-Smuggling. This group would include as members the trade, agriculture, finance and justice departments and two private-sector representatives.
A similar cooperative agreement against smuggling was forged between the Federation of Philippine Industries and the BOC last year.
PCCI also urged government to come up with a master plan for land, air and sea ports even as it recommended the decongestion of airports by making Ninoy Aquino International Airport the local air travel hub, and Clark International Airport in Clarkfield, Pampanga the international hub; and the transfer of general aviation operations to Sangley Point in Cavite or Lipa City in Batangas.
In addition, the chamber asked government to provide night-landing facilities to more provincial airports to lengthen their daily operations capabilities.
It called on the Senate to approve the bill repealing the common carriers tax and the gross Philippine billings tax to entice foreign carriers to operate in the Philippines.
Other PCCI recommendations are:
• Begin the Metro Manila Skyway Project that will connect Sen Gil Puyat Avenue to the North Luzon Expressway;
• Make the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization standards;
• Implement a 24/7 shift for customs, immigration and quarantine personnel;
• Convert the Port of Subic into a cruise hub;
• Include chassis-roll on roll off or Cha-RO in the existing roll-on, roll-off or RORO nautical highway policy;
• Remove the rate setting function of the Philippine Ports Authority; and
• Create a Ports Management Advisory Council
The wish list also covered areas such as power, environment, housing, information and communications technology, industry, mining, small and medium enterprises development, taxation, strong peso, agriculture, education and Southeast Asian economic integration.
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