THE RAGING dispute over the entry of a third player in the lucrative—and tightly controlled —international cargo handling business in Manila’s port may soon be solved.
And the solution, surprisingly, may come not from the long entrenched players in the sector, but from a newcomer in the person of Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon.
The new Customs chief, who has yet to warm his seat in the often controversial bureau, has written his boss Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III proposing a novel solution to the face-off between the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on one side and Manila North Harbor Port Inc. on the other.
Interestingly, Faeldon noted that there was “sufficient legal basis” for his predecessor to grant Manila North Harbor the status of an authorized customs facility, thus allowing it to handle international cargo (in addition to its original mandate of handling domestic cargo).
Faeldon also pointed out that the new Anti-Cabotage Law “gives explicit authority to domestic ports like Manila North Harbor to now handle foreign vessels and/or cargo.”
But the new Customs chief noted that his predecessor might not have fully consulted all the stakeholders involved. Of course, this included other port operators, which have been vigorously opposing the entry of a third player in the lucrative industry.
So pending the fulfillment of the public consultation requirement, Faeldon is recommending to Dominguez the suspension of the Customs order issued by the previous boss, Alberto Lina. That, of course, hands the PPA and the defenders of the status quo a temporary victory.
But Faeldon also pointed out that this suspension “will allow the PPA and Manila North Harbor to amend their concession agreement,” meaning that the latter might simply be asked to pay the government a little more in concession fees in exchange for being allowed to handle international cargo.
Is this the win-win solution everyone has been waiting for? Let’s see what the PPA and the port giants say. Daxim L. Lucas
Next Las Piñas rep
With Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar having accepted the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) portfolio under the Duterte administration, the city will have to contend with a “caretaker” representative for the next three years. The Villar patriarch, businessman Manuel Villar Jr., said it would be too expensive to hold a special election too soon after the recent polls.
The “caretaker” representative, the elder Villar said, would be the congressman from the closest district (geographically speaking, it would be either Parañaque or Muntinlupa (in its earlier history, Las Piñas was lumped with either of these neighboring cities). Even closer to the younger Villar on a personal basis, the patriarch noted, was his wife Em Aglipay-Villar (DIWA party-list representative). So as we see, representation in the 17th Congress is the least of the Villars’ concerns. They will be ready to field a candidate for the 18th Congress three years from now.
Villar himself also quashed rumors that he himself would fill the void left by his son, saying that after 21 years in politics, he was now making up for lost time and would rather focus on growing various businesses under the group. But for the next Congress, he said the family would continue representing the district.
But who’s going to run for Congress? “My daughter,” Villar said, referring to Camille, who is currently involved in the group’s real estate businesses. Has she agreed to do this? “Di pa niya alam (She doesn’t know yet),” he said.
Villar—the leader of Nacionalista Party (the first to form a coalition with the ruling PDP-Laban)—has three years to convince his unica hija to join politics. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Next IPO
AFTER Golden Haven Memorial Park, the Villar group has another company to bring to public hands, possibly by next year. It’s not retail arm All Home, as Villar feels that this chain of one-stop-shop for home essentials needed a critical mass of more than 25 stores to be a good consumer play.
Is it a prospective Villar holding firm similar to Lucio Co’s Cosco Capital (the one that unlocked the businessman’s new tycoon status)? That’s a possibility, Villar said. Is he keen on taking the scenic route of having an initial public offering (IPO) or the quicker backdoor-listing route for the future Villar conglomerate? It depends on what the underwriters will recommend, he said.
“I have very big plans for Vista Land, Vista Malls, Golden Haven, for my retail group. I’ve got so much to do. Certainly, in the next three to five years, they will list or (for those already listed) have a follow-on offering,” he said. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
PAL ‘telco’ service
FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines has made some interesting announcements recently in its bid to raise revenues. There’s that PAL boutique store for various knick-knacks and even an interesting bidding mechanism for a business class upgrade.
But its latest venture takes things quite far from the air business and into, well, telecommunications. PAL won’t quite be the third telco player we were hoping for, but here’s how it goes.
Apparently, PAL this week is expected to launch a service called “myPALRoam.” Our own sources said it was indeed a mobile data roaming service for international travellers. Details are scant at this point, but the idea is to provide flyers with a rental mobile hotspot.
You can certainly procure these at your intended destinations or use your telco provider’s roaming plans. But PAL’s advantage, we hear, is that it will provide data roaming at a lower cost.
Telecommunications, of course, is far from PAL’s expertise. Stay tuned for who their partner will be. Miguel R. Camus
Steel wars, part 2
STEEL processing firm SteelAsia wrote Biz Buzz to dispute an earlier item about the importation of steel products from China.
Saying that the previous item was “completely wrong,” the company said that the assailed billet imports the company made from Russia last year was declared at $205 a metric ton “freight on board” and “not the taxable value”.
“We bought the billets at CIF, meaning after adding the cost of insurance and freight, and the 5-percent duty imposed on Russian billets, the value used by the Bureau of Customs was $242 a metric ton,” the company said, adding that these prices could be back-checked through the reference site www.steelbb.com.
“The 12 percent VAT we paid on this transaction was made through the bank-to-customs bureau system,” SteelAsia added.
SteelAsia noted that the information given to Biz Buzz was meant to put the firm “in a bad light.”
Of course, the “irregularities” with these imports in question were first reported to the Bureau of Customs just a couple of months ago by the Philippine Steelmakers Association.
The letter to then Customs chief Alberto Lina was signed by PSA’s deputy executive director Edgardo Santibañez.
Speaking of the competition, steel importer Mannage Resources Trading Corp. (MRTC), said it is “ready to compete” with big local players as it starts selling imported reinforcing steel bars that meet international and local quality and safety standards.
MRTC president Lawrence Sy said that, with the country’s booming construction and real estate sector, his company decided to enter the highly-competitive steel industry to offer budget-but-quality-conscious consumers a wider range of choices.
For starters, Sy said, the company is offering 5,000 metric tons of 12mm Grade 275 weldable deformed steel bars, but would soon introduce multiple sizes and other steel products to the local market.
He said TUV Rheinland and SGS-CSTC Standards and Technical Services Co. Ltd. in Shanghai, China—both internationally-recognized and accredited testing laboratories—have thoroughly checked and certified that the rebars imported from China meet all the required safety and quality standards.
Even during the manufacturing stage, MRTC’s steel bars were checked every 32 pieces or every 2 tons to ensure that it meets strict quality and strength tests. Philippine National Standards require testing every 20 tons, he said.
Sy dismissed what he called an ongoing “smear campaign” by unscrupulous competitors questioning the quality and safety of MRTC’s steel products.
Yes, it definitely looks like a “steel war” between the industry’s biggest players. Daxim L. Lucas
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