The Philippine logistics industry will not be able to compete with its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) peers unless the government institutionalizes provisions of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Multimodal Transport (FAMT), according to the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association, Inc. (PISFA).
Doris Torres, PISFA’s newly elected president, in an interview with PortCalls on the sidelines of the group’s recent induction of officers, said there are as yet no moves from government to implement the ASEAN FAMT that the Philippines, through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), signed in 2005.
Under the ASEAN FAMT, a multimodal transport operator requires registration with a competent national body, which is currently non-existent in the Philippines. Such registration authorizes multimodal transport operators to operate in any of the ASEAN member countries.
Non-compliance with the FAMT means multimodal operators in the Philippines will lose out on vast opportunities afforded by the impending ASEAN economic integration, explained Torres.
Apart from the ability to compete in ASEAN, the creation of a single certifying body will help multimodal transport operators reduce costs and delays as they only need to register with one agency instead of several.
The single biggest impediment to the creation of a competent national body seems to be that forwarders are regulated by two different departments; seafreight forwarders are under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), specifically the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau, while airfreight forwarders are under DOTC’s Civil Aeronautics Board.
There is a proposal by PISFA to transfer industry regulation to the Maritime Industry Authority, an attached agency of the DOTC, so that both sea and air forwarders come under the purview of the DOTC.
Logistics industry roadmap almost ready
Torres is positive there will soon be developments on the issue of the multimodal transport operator certifying body with PISFA already finalizing the first Philippine Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Industry Roadmap. The roadmap, solicited by DTI and being done in consultation with various private and public transport stakeholders, contains suggestions aligned with the country’s international agreements, including the ASEAN FAMT, Torres noted.
She said the final roadmap draft will be completed by end of the year, and rolled out to Visayas and Mindanao stakeholders by early next year.
In her speech during the PISFA board induction, Torres said the roadmap “heavily takes into account the ASEAN integration” and emphasizes the creation of a national accreditation agency for multimodal transport operators.
It also recommends the creation of a curriculum for the freight forwarding industry, validated by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and recognized by other ASEAN nations. An internationally recognized curriculum will allow Filipino professionals to more easily practice their profession in other ASEAN countries, she said.
The roadmap aims to make the Philippines a competitive logistics hub in Southeast Asia with an integrated multimodal transportation system by 2030.
First is capacity building, in which soft infrastructure such as policies and IT infrastructure will be laid down. Second is capacity extension and efficiency enhancement, to be realized by constructing hard infrastructure, promoting skills development, and improving ICT readiness. The third phase is forging information and physical linkages to create an integrated multimodal logistics.
NEDA highlights logistics industry’s role
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) deputy director general Dr Emmanuel Esguerra, keynote speaker and induction officer at the induction, said the “roadmap will surely give your industry the much-needed recognition it deserves, bringing to light its substantial contribution to the economy; more than that, the roadmap recommendations will help inform government of critical gaps in the logistics sector, allowing for adjustments in state policies.”
Esguerra, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation convenor of the Group of Services, said the transport and logistics industry “is a crucial component in the global value chain, having direct and indirect links with important economic and social development goals.” Transportation forms part of the services sector.
He said the logistics industry’s “role in economic development cannot be emphasized enough”, noting that, “Logistics is a driver of trade which, under appropriate conditions, leads to higher incomes, employment gains, and lower poverty rates.”
Moreover, the industry is “key in the performance of other sectors of the economy,” Esguerra said, adding that such sectors as manufacturing and agriculture rely on logistics to ship their goods to consumers quickly, cost effectively, and reliably. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
