The Philippine government has increased the budgets and set goals of transport and trade agencies for 2015.
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), under the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA) signed late last year, was allocated a P1.156-billion fund for 2015. This is 115% higher than the P536-million budget for 2014.
MARINA will spend this amount, together with the P25 million in tonnage fees it collected from ship owners, to promote and develop the domestic shipping industry, enhance maritime safety, and develop ship building and ship repair in the country.
The amount will be released once a special budget is submitted pursuant to Special Budgets for Lump-Sum Appropriations of the Administrative Code of 1987.
For this year, under the GAA, MARINA is tasked to improve the number of operating merchant ships in the country by 3% to 6,442 from the baseline number of 6,254 in 2014. A total of 42,916 applications for new or renewed permits, licenses, and certificates are also targeted for this year.
The agency will also aim to increase the number of certified seafarers by 5% and domestic seafarers by 2% while reducing maritime accidents by 1%.
Among the agency’s other 2015 targets include updating 90% of its policies, rules, and regulations that have been unchanged over the last three years, and getting a “satisfactory” or “better” rating for its policies from 70% of its clients. For this year, 15 policies are on the target board.
As for the air sector, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which is tasked to promote and regulate the country’s air transportation sector, was given a P68.032-million budget for 2015. This is 22.6% higher than the P55.502 million allotted in the 2014 GAA.
For 2015, CAB targets a 5% increase in domestic seats offered to 28.993 million seats from 27.613 million, and a 1% growth in operated domestic routes from 84 to 85. A 3% improvement from 79 to 81 is eyed for international routes.
In the area of passage, CAB aims to expand volume to 5% for both domestic and international flights. It also seeks to grow the number of domestic passengers to 21.352 million from 20.335 million, and international passengers to 18.189 million passengers from 17.323 million.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) was allotted P3.056 billion this year, up 57.6% from P1.939 billion in the previous year.
Aside from its 2015 GAA share, BOC will use the P36 million in service fees it charged qualified importers utilizing its Super Green Lane (SGL) facility to maintain and improve the facility. The fund will also partly go to the realization of the Automated Customs Operation System and related computer systems of BOC, and other activities and programs needed to enhance the SGL facility.
Moreover, another P298.470 million in mandatory container security fees it imposed on 40-foot and 20-foot containers under BOC’s Non-Intrusive Container Inspection System will be used to maintain improve, and upgrade this program.
Another P6.532 billion recorded as trust receipts from 2014 revenue tax collections and deposited with the National Treasury will be used to settle claims: refund input value-added tax (VAT) on importations attributed to zero-rated transactions, and pay the monetization of the VAT component of outstanding Duty Drawback Tax Credit Certificates (TCC) as part of the TCC Monetization Program.
For 2015, BOC is tasked to increase its cash collections by 10% and raise sales from forfeited and abandoned items by 40%. The customs agency’s revenue-collection goal for 2015 is P456.458 billion, 11.9% higher than the P408.1-billion target in 2014.
As for trade facilitation, BOC’s target this year is to reduce export documents to five and import documents to six.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), on the other hand, has a budget of P59.5 billion, higher by 21.9% in 2015 compared to last year’s budget of P48.8 billion.
The budget will be funnelled into infrastructure programs, including P10.6 billion to improve the country’s railway systems and P15.4 billion to bankroll various airport and seaport projects.
For 2015, the country’s overall budget is P2.606 trillion, higher than the P2.265 trillion in 2014. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
