EDITORIAL - Port extortion

After looking into the problem of congestion in the Port of Manila, he can now write a handbook on extortion, according to Rene Almendras. The secretary of the Cabinet heads a special cluster

that was formed as problems in the country’s principal seaport pushed up prices of many commodities, disrupted supply chains and production schedules, and added to investment disincentives.

What the Cabinet cluster found, Almendras said, was extortion inside the port, extortion outside, and extortion once the trucks are on the road. Businessmen have in fact complained about this for a long time, so it’s good that a special group is seeing the extent of corruption in cargo processing.

Delays and inefficiency provide opportunities for graft. Every layer of red tape paves the way for seeking a “facilitation fee.” There will be no need for facilitation if services are delivered efficiently. This must be the objective at the ports, and in any government agency.

There are factors that can discourage the collection of grease money at the ports: clear rules and simplified procedures, with easy public access to information on government services, and a clear delineation of functions as well as identification of those responsible at every step of cargo processing.

Reasonable deadlines can be set for completing each step of cargo clearing. Those who fail to meet the deadlines should be made to consider early retirement. If there is reasonable cause to bolster suspicions of corruption, employees must face administrative and criminal investigation.

Malacañang has vowed to make all processes at the ports “overwhelmingly transparent” through a combination of systemic reforms and the use of technology. Similar efforts have been undertaken in the past, but employees at the ports always found ways of circumventing even technology.

This time, with the country fast developing a reputation for being a basket case in port services, the government must make sure its effort will not fail. President Aquino has been telling investors that it’s no longer business as usual in the Philippines under his watch. He should prove as good as his word.