DTI wants foreign shipping charges regulated

The Department of Trade and Industry will seek a dialogue with the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to push a proposal to regulate the rates charged by international shipping lines.

Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said in a phone interview Wednesday that the DTI was determined to see this proposal through as it formed part of its commitment to help prevent a repeat of the congestion problems seen at the Port of Manila last year.

“This was one of the measures that came out of the various port congestion dialogues held earlier. Even if the congestion problem has already been resolved, there are things to do (to prevent a reoccurrence),” Dimagiba said.

He said the DTI had sent a letter to Marina last month, outlining specific details and pertinent laws that would allow and enable the government to impose such regulations. Marina, however, has yet to respond to the letter.

“It’s all there in the letter—the various relevant provisions. I cited very specific laws to convince Marina that they have the authority to regulate. We don’t even need a new law to regulate international shipping lines because it’s all there. It’s just a matter of implementing these to their full extent,” he added.

These laws are Republic Act No. 9215; Executive Order No. 125A; Presidential Decree 474; and Marina Memorandum Circular 186-2003.

Dimagiba earlier floated the proposal due to the growing number of complaints regarding the excessive and unreasonable additional charges being imposed by shipping lines due to the port congestion.

He said the DTI was looking at an arrangement similar to that involving  the  Energy Regulatory Commission.  This means, he said, a designated agency would have to study and approve any changes in the shipping rates before they can be implemented to ensure that such charges are reasonable.