Next 8 weeks critical, warn business execs

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The next eight weeks will be a critical period for the government to implement additional measures to resolve the continuing congestion at the Manila ports, which is feared to lead to shortages of and price spikes in consumer goods.

“There could be a shortage of some of the goods which Filipinos are used to have in abundance during the Christmas season. If there is a shortage in supplies, what does that mean? Prices will be going up. We may see more and more of that shortage if (the port congestion is) not addressed,” Michael Raeuber, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. (ECCP), said in a briefing on Wednesday.

“It’s almost impossible to estimate the impact on cost, but it did have an impact on certain prices. If not resolved, the port congestion could lead to even bigger price increases. Right now, supply is short as some containers don’t make it to the Philippines. Some companies have temporarily suspended their operations in the Philippines while others have significantly increased their costs,” he added.

Foreign chambers and a number of business groups, however, believe that the current measures in place were not enough to effectively address the congestion at the country’s busiest port.

“The orders have been placed, and the shipments are coming in… We have to avoid that gridlock to ensure that the demand will be met,” he said.

In a joint statement, the ECCP, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. and Truckers Associations suggested a number of remedies that can immediately ease port congestion.

Among the measures proposed were to impose a ban of all bans, with the national government reasserting its power and jurisdiction over national roads that cut across cities; to lift the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) requirement for trucks for hire to apply for a franchise; and removal of the expiration of gate passes/delivery orders for container vans.

The groups also urged the government to review, and possibly regulate through the reactivation of a Shippers’ Council the allowable demurrage and detention charges for consumers; restrain the shuffling of containers from the port of Manila to the ports of Subic and Batangas; promote the speedy upgrading of equipment in the secondary ports of Batangas and Subic; and, more importantly, create a direct link from the SLEx-NLEx connector road to the Port of Manila.