Private sector wants ‘port czar’

MANILA, Philippines - Saying the lifting of the truck ban was not enough to solve port congestion, the private sector yesterday urged the government to appoint a “port czar” who would oversee all problems at ports, including smuggling and traffic jams.

This was one of the recommendations made during yesterday’s Ports Summit attended by government and private sector representatives to analyze problems and solutions besetting ports in Manila.

“Only one person should handle port congestion and other problems, and this should be a port czar,” said Noemi Saludo, chairman emeritus of the Port Users Confederation (PUC), one of the summit convenors.

“We thought, maybe somebody should handle this because they are always blaming the truck ban,” Saludo said.

But she explained that the “truck ban is just one of the reasons” contributing to the congestion at ports. And this has been addressed already by the Cabinet clusters.

“But what is happening inside? That’s why we decided to hold this (summit),” she said.

Saludo said the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has designated managers to oversee issues inside port.

But according to her, there are other problems that need to be addressed such as traffic, congestion, abandonment of containers and smuggling, among others.

On abandonment of containers, one of the traders who attended the summit asked the Bureau of Customs to address “suspicious” or questionable cargoes that cause delays on the release of container vans.

Cargoes become “suspicious” or questionable when they lack documents required by the BOC.

Five offices under BOC deputy commissioners inspect these cargoes before the commissioner approves their release.

Should the commissioner find any problem, the cargoes are sent back to his deputies.

The delays, according to the trader, could sometimes last up to three months, like what happened to one wine shipment.