Business sector calls on BoC to act on looming port woes

CEBU, Philippines – The business community in Cebu hopes to see an immediate resolution to the looming port congestion problems, especially with the holiday season and the upcoming Sinulog celebration.

"We hope that the Bureau of Customs [Port of Cebu] will implement this week its promise to ease the congestion of cargo release at our port," said Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Ma. Teresa Chan in an interview yesterday, following the series of meetings with the BoC and the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) officials these past few days.

Together with PhilExport-Cebu, Customs Brokers Association of Cebu, Philippine International Seafreight  Forwarders Association-Cebu (PISFA-Cebu,) Ship owners, and importers, CCCI led a call for the port officials to immediately resolve  the overdue delays of goods coming to Cebu. Otherwise, this will make consumer goods much expensive as storage fees will eventually be passed on to consumers.

According to Chan port officials are expected to resolve this problem within this week, and also implement some of the private sector's request to hasten the release of shipments stuck at the Cebu Port.

Chan said businessmen are already worried of the looming congestion, knowing that the port is already 98 percent utilized.

"Based on our meeting last week, BoC promised to speed up the processing of newly arrived containers. We hope that Cebu won’t experience an [actual] congestion," Chan said.

Meanwhile, PISFA-Cebu president Carmel Salvador said the impact of delayed cargoes coming in to Cebu would be an increase of prices especially on consumer goods.

"Businessmen are going to pass on the extra cost of storage fees, to consumers. We don't want this to happen in Cebu," said Salvador in a separate interview.

Salvador said the current situation at the Cebu port with influx of importation and shipments coming in, is "alarmingly high."

The group is also coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7) to closely monitor the prices of goods affected by the delays.

The business sector requested for a 24-hour operation in the cargo releasing operation at the port, at least up after Sinulog 2016, to avoid overlapping of cargoes coming in to Cebu, said Chan. (FREEMAN)