Truck ban continues to hit firms

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Local companies continued to reel from a double whammy of double-digit losses in revenues and equally crippling surges in import- and export-related expenses, given the continued truck congestion and container pile-up at the Port of Manila.

Alfredo Yao, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned that this situation may become permanent and be further exacerbated by “opportunistic” traders and businesses wanting to take advantage of the dilemma.

In an interview with the Inquirer on Wednesday, Yao explained that the situation—which stemmed from the truck ban policy implemented by the city government of Manila starting February—has become more complicated as more factors come into play.

For instance, truckers and shipping lines continued to bill more and had put in additional charges to be borne by the exporters and importers. The time it takes to take out a container from the Manila port has also more than tripled to 15-20 days from the previous five days, Yao said.

Another impending threat was the July 31 deadline imposed on importers and customs brokers to secure accreditation from the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Yao disclosed that out of some 16,000 importers, only the applications of less than 1,000 are being or have already been processed. The government might not be able to process all the applications in time for this deadline.

What the government should do, Yao proposed, was to allow those with pending applications to continue their operations so as not to drastically disrupt the flow of goods in and out of the country, until such time that their applications have been approved or declined.

European-led companies, meanwhile, reiterated their call to lift the truck ban in Manila while moving empty containers to areas near economic zones in a bid to decongest the country’s busiest port.

In a meeting with Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) officials last Monday, members of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) reminded the government that businessmen want to “ban all truck bans” in order to move containers containing raw materials as well as finished goods out of the Port of Manila, the chamber’s executive vice president Henry J. Schumacher told the Inquirer.

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