THE philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) PHP877.6 million (US$16.5 million) container registry and monitoring system say they will enhance competitiveness and allow a cost-saving mechanism for stakeholders in the logistics space, reports the Philippines Business Mirror.

But a coalition of 14 maritime sector associations industry associations, led by the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry, say the ports authority initiative is harmful to trade and a violation of the Ease of Doing Business Act, reports the Manila Times.

Nonetheless, the Philippine Ports Authority insists customs brokers and truckers, including importers and foreign carriers, will ‘benefit from reducing container deposit container management fees, the government is also well poised to receive greater leverage against smuggling.

‘Indeed, the 14,000-strong Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc (CCBI) is throwing its support to the Trusted Operator Programme-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS) and Empty Container Storage Shared Service Facility (ECSSSF) of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) as it would no longer require their members to pay for the container deposits to cover the loss and damages of containers,’ said the Port Authority statement.

‘For the last two decades, we practicing customs brokers have seen and experienced the perennial problem in the requirement of the different international shipping lines of container deposits before the release of delivery orders/container release orders ranging from PHP10,000 (US$188) to PHP20,000/TEU up to PHP100,000 for specialised containers such as flat rack and reefer containers,’ CCBI president Adones Carmona said in his letter to PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago.

Mr Santiago said that ‘the claim of refund after the return of the empty container and submission of the request for the return of the container deposit ranges from a month to a year that made life difficult for our members.’

Said Mr Carmona: ‘With subsequent claims by the shipping lines of damages and unfair deductions are made to the deposits.’

Opposing this view are the Philippine Chamber, Philippine Exporters Confederation, the Supply Chain Management Association, the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organisations, the Alliance of Container Yard Operators, the Association of Off-Dock CFS Operators, the Association of International Shipping Lines, the Confederation of Truckers Association, the Customs Brokers Federation, the Philippine Liner Shipping Association, Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association, Philippine Ship Agents Association and the United Port Users Confederation.

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