Importers given 5 days to claim shipments

MANILA, Philippines - Starting Sept. 8, owners of cargoes cleared by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will be given five days to pull out from the Manila ports or face eviction and sanctions, a Malacañang official said yesterday.

In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said these cargoes would also be shipped out to the ports in Subic or Batangas.

He said cargoes cleared by port authorities that would not be pulled out within the prescribed five-day period will be charged P5,000 a day.

Coloma said President Aquino directed Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to convene a Cabinet cluster composed of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Socio Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino to address port congestion.

PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Winston Ginez and BOC Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla will also join the meeting.

“There is a resolution being passed around…regarding the implementation of 24-hour last-mile truck routes for a two-week period that is hoped to be an effective solution for decongesting the Port of Manila,” Coloma said.

“The key here is to let truckers operate on Sunday and Monday morning so they can maximize the utilization of the 24-hour last-mile truck routes,” he added.

Coloma said those who would operate on Sundays would be given incentives and tagged by the MMDA so they could use the 24-hour last-mile truck routes.

“We have 24/7 Roxas Boulevard and Quirino Avenue truck lanes to the South and A. Bonifacio C3 to NLEX truck lanes,” he said.

Trucking rates

Meanwhile, the LTFRB yesterday issued an advisory on the trucking rates for containerized imported and export cargoes to and from the Port of Manila.

LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez said that after  consultation with truck-for-hire operators, importers, exporters, chambers of commerce, trade associations and other stakeholders, they have decided to unbundle the trucking rates to make them fair and transparent.

He explained that base charges would be the last trucking rate agreed upon by the truckers and importers, consignees or importers prior to the congestion of the Port of Manila as evidenced by their trucking or hauling contract.

He said base charges are inclusive of 14 hours of waiting time, including delay in the warehouse due to loading or unloading of cargoes and issuance of gate pass; waiting to return empty containers at depots; and detention at port to withdraw laden or empty containers. – With Reinir Padua