THE Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) said its members continue to oppose the increase in storage fees imposed by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
“We are still protesting against it. The problem is, every time there is a problem in the ports, they increase the rates,” Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., told reporters on Friday.
The exporters are proposing a one-time grant of amnesty by the Bureau of Customs to resolve the dispute, as well as weekly auctions of confiscated goods.
“Customs is unlike BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), which every time there is a change of administration, declares an amnesty,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.
“Customs doesn’t have the power to declare an amnesty, so from the time it was set up, there has been no declaration of amnesty. So what we are suggesting is to declare a one-time amnesty (in Customs) for them to be able to clean out all the (backlog),” he added.
Aside from the one-time amnesty, Mr. Ortiz-Luis also called for a weekly auction of confiscated goods to help decongest PPA facilities.
“The auction of the confiscated goods should be done every week so that (congestion) will decrease… What is important is for us to dispatch the confiscated goods,” he said.
The PPA implemented a 32% hike in storage fees for foreign container cargo on Jan. 6, despite calls from the business sector to defer or reconsider the increase.
In particular, the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines called for the increase to be deferred to mid-2024.
Other chambers that opposed the proposal include the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.
Asked to comment, the PPA said that the port charges, including cargo handling charges, are based on the terms of concession agreements entered into by the government.
“These adjustments are based on established and accepted metrics and are subjected to thorough scrutiny through public consultations,” it said in a Viber message.
In a public consultation in October, the PPA said that the increase in storage charges will ensure optimal use of the yards and encourage immediate withdrawal of containers, thereby minimizing congestion.
The Department of Transportation added that the increase is meant to “discourage” overstaying cargoes.
“The problem with high logistics costs is the unregulated charges being charged primarily by shipping lines, private container yards, trucking companies, and other service providers that are part of the logistics chain,” the PPA said.
“These charges are all unregulated and are increased arbitrarily without the benefit of any consultation. In the meantime, port charges, including cargo handling charges, account for only less than 5% of the logistics cost,” it said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
