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Cargo-handling operators, passenger terminal building operators, and roll-on/roll-off (service providers with contracts that expired after December 2022 will be issued holdover authority by the Philippine Ports Authority
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This ensures the contractors continue providing services in PPA ports
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The affected service operators should file their letter of intent for issuance of HOA two months before their contracts expire, according to PPA Administrative Order No. 01-2023
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The HOA will be valid for one year or until PPA has issued a new contract and notice to proceed to a new operator, whichever comes earlier, unless otherwise 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 with contracts that expired after December 2022 to ensure their continuous provision of services in PPA ports.
The affected port services providers should file their letter of intent for the issuance of HOA two months before their contracts expire, according to PPA Administrative Order No. 01-2023 dated January 3 and published in a nationally circulated newspaper on January 9.
The HOA issuance will be subject to compliance with certain conditions. Among these are: that the cargo-handling operator, PTB operator, or Ro-Ro service provider has no outstanding financial obligation to PPA.
They must also have complied with the requirements of concerned government agencies such as the Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Department of Labor and Employment. They also must not have any pending case against PPA.
Additionally, for cargo-handling operators, they must have submitted an updated port workers retirement and separation fund.
The HOA will be valid for a year, or until PPA has issued a new contract and notice to proceed to a new operator in accordance with PPA Administrative Order No. 12-2018, whichever comes earlier, unless otherwise revoked.
AO 12-2018 provides the PPA guidelines for the selection and award of contracts to ports under its Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTMRF).
READ: PPA bares guidelines for awarding of port management contracts
Since 2020, PPA has been bidding out port terminal management contracts under PTMRF for various ports.
AO 01-2023 noted that the HOA to be issued must be signed by the PPA general manager.
PPA, for years, has been extending the HOAs of cargo-handling service providers that had expired before a new contract had been secured to ensure continuous provision of services at the ports.
PPA has also created special takeover units to assume the operation of ports if necessary, such as when the existing cargo-handling operator’s contract had expired and no operator has been selected yet. – Roumina Pablo
RELATED READ: PPA service providers must file holdover authority 2 months before contracts lapse
