To head off the “looming” congestion at the ports of Manila, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and stakeholders have proposed to put up shared depots for empty containers outside Metro Manila.
In a statement Tuesday, the BOC said Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero met with members of the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. last week “to address the issues and concerns affecting the operations at the ports, including its looming congestion problem.”
The BOC said the forum was held to avoid a repeat of the port congestion problem in 2014.
Based on the BOC and the Filipino-Chinese business chambers’ discussions, they agreed that international shipping lines should be required to have their own depot outside Metro Manila, for them to store their empty containers and not inside port terminals, as practiced today.
Also, the BOC and port stakeholders wanted a shared or unified facility for all shipping firms’ empty containers, ideally nearby industrial zones.
As such, they said the Philippine Economic Zone Authority should allot space for such depots, which the BOC must accredit.
“The strict enforcement of the 90-day rule on empty containers should be also undertaken, if only to penalize those that have stayed in the country for over 90 days,” they added.
Given the ongoing congestion at the Manila International Container Terminal and the South Harbor, Guerrero said all empty containers mist be transferred to the Asian Terminals Inc. Terminal in Batangas and the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Terminal in Subic.
In January, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) cited the return of empty containers as among their concerns at the country’s ports.
During a meeting between Guerrero and PCCI officials, the Customs chief said container yard operators were “amenable with the BOC requirement to lower and maintain their utilization rate to 70 percent.”
The BOC had also sought the Department of Finance’s approval of the draft Customs Administrative Order seeking to slap additional duties and taxes to overstaying containers, the Customs chief said.