Groups urge PPA to stop enforcement of container monitoring order

Several business groups on Friday urged the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to stop enforcing an order which aims to implement an additional container monitoring system.

The PPA’s Administrative Order No. 04-2021 aims to prescribe the policy for the registration and monitoring of containers entering and leaving PPA ports, including the scheduling, loading, unloading, release, and movement of all containers.

But according to groups such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCI), the Philippine Exporters Confederation (PHILEXPORT), the Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP), the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. (PAMPI), Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association, Inc. (PMTLAI), and the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organizations (ACTOO), the issuance of the order was allegedly anomalous and worsen the country’s inflation.

“The PPA fails to consider that the ultimate victim of these additional costs is the ordinary Filipino consumer, who is already bleeding from an inflation rate of 8.1,” the groups said.

“The policy will result in an astronomical increase in the prices of basic food and other commodities,” they added.

They added that their estimates suggested that the direct financial cost alone from the additional insurance fees, transaction fees, and trucking fees required by TOP-CRMS/ECSSSF would result in an almost 50% increase in the cost of importing goods.

Under the PPA order, the agency would prescribe and adopt a system for the registration and monitoring of containers.

All inbound containers would be enrolled in the PPA system.

However, the PPA said in Jun Veneracion's report on "24 Oras" that the business groups had no basis for their claims.

Furthermore, they countered that the policy would make the transactions of shipping materials easier and more convenient.

The policy would also make transactions digital so the shippers can monitor the containers through an application.

"Open naman tayo to tweek the system, to accommodate as much concerns na nire-rairse. For as long as they are reasonable and relevant. We will give proper notice to all stakeholders before we launch," said PPA General Manager Attorney Jay Santiago.

The other groups calling on the PPA to halt the order were the Alliance of Container Yard Operators of the Philippines (AYCOP), the Association of International Shipping Lines, Inc. m, the Association of Off-Dock CFS Operators of the Philippines, Inc. (ACOP), Customs Brokers Federation of the Philippines(CBFP), Pasig Port Users United, Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA), Philippine Ship Agents Association (PSAA), Port Users Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (PUCP), Practicing Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines (PCBAPI), and the United Port Users Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (UPC). — DVM, GMA Integrated News