Truckers, brokers shelve protest rally vs. Manila port's booking scheme

Published November 9, 2015 9:53pm

A group of truckers and brokers shelved a planned protest against the implementation of the Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS) at the Manila South Harbor, according to a report by GMA News' Rida Reyes on Balitanghali Monday.

The Aduana Business Club Inc. (ABCI) and port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) have reached an agreement, where the latter vowed to address delays in the release of containers due to the booking system.

The agreement guarantees trucks with time slots and gate passes if the booking is made under TABS, an online system that allows port stakeholders to schedule the delivery and release of cargoes from the port, ABCI President Mary Zapata said.

The booking system, which ATI started implementing on October 1, supposedly caused delays in shipments of importers because of irregularities surrounding the assignment of time slots.

ABCI was supposed to stage a protest in front of the Bureau of Customs office in Port Area on Monday. The group, however, is counting on the port operator's commitment to their agreement, according to the report.

The two parties are scheduled to meet Monday afternoon to finalize guidelines for the implementation of TABS. – Keith Richard Mariano/VS/ALG, GMA News

Tags: terminalappointmentbookingsystem