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The Philippine Ports Authority will grant holdover authority to operators with expired contracts post-December 2023, ensuring ongoing services in their ports
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Operators must submit a letter of intent for holdover authority issuance two months before its expiration, per Administrative Order 11-2023
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The holdover authority is valid for one year or until PPA issues a new contract or notice to proceed, whichever is earlier, unless revoked
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will issue holdover authority (HOA) to cargo-handling operators, passenger terminal building (PTB) operators, and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) service providers whose contracts or HOA expire after December 2023 to ensure continuous provision of their services in PPA ports.
According to PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 11-2023Administrative Order (AO) No. 11-2023, dated December 19 and published on December 21, cargo-handling operators, PTB operators, and ro-ro service providers should submit their letter of intent for HOA issuance two months before its expiration.
The issuance of HOA is contingent upon meeting certain conditions. These include having no outstanding financial obligations with PPA, compliance with requirements from government agencies like the Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Department of Labor and Employment.
They must also not have any pending case against PPA. For cargo-handling operators, submission of an updated port workers retirement and separation fund is also required.
The HOA will be valid for one year or until PPA has issued a new contract and notice to proceed to a new operator in accordance with AO 12-2018, whichever comes first, unless revoked. AO 12-2018 outlines PPA’s guidelines for selecting and awarding contracts for ports under the Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTMRF).
PPA, since 2020, has been bidding out port terminal management contracts under PTMRF for various ports. AO 11-2023 specifies that the PPA general manager should be the signatory to the HOA that will be issued.
PPA has a history of extending HOAs for cargo-handling service providers whose contracts have expired to ensure continuous service provision at ports. PPA also creates special takeover units to take over the operation of ports when necessary, such as when a cargo-handling operator’s contract has expired, and now new operator has been selected.
