Order to ease port congestion delayed

Order to ease port congestion delayed
TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD May 02, 2019 https://www.manilatimes.net/order-to-ease-port-congestion-delayed/548304/

The issuance of the joint administrative order (JAO) to address the port congestion has been delayed to make way for the further review of shipping rates, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said recently.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the JAO was still being reviewed by several government agencies to make sure that “unnecessary additional shipping rates” were removed.

Originally set in mid-February, the JAO’s release was moved to a later date as consultations were conducted. Lopez explained, adding that was now on its seventh draft.
“Give us two weeks,” he said, adding that inputs from international shipping lines were being welcomed by the government.

The JAO will be used to “regulate and specify the rules and regulations that will govern the fees and charges of shipping lines, port operators, truckers, and port users to lower operating costs and improve logistics efficiencies,”Lopez said earlier.

This, as the business sector raised concerns over high shipping costs and port congestion. Under the JAO, shipping lines will not be allowed to collect fees in the Philippines. The cost will be charged to freight and other expenses instead, it said.

Once port congestion is addressed, the JAO will allow shipments to be transported across the Batangas and Subic ports, providing additional shipping options besides the Manila port.

The joint agreement will be issued by the DTI, Department of Finance, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Maritime Industry Authority, Philippine Ports Authority and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

A joint memorandum circular between the BOC and PPA was also released to set the utilization rate of container deposits in Manila back to the normal 70 percent, DTI said.