PPA, contractors in legal tussle over shelved cargo tracking system

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA  -The Philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) contractors for its deferred cargo container tracking system have sought legal action against the government agency, asking for court intervention to order the implementation of their agreement.

Shiptek Solutions Corporation and Nextix Inc., the firms which entered into a joint venture (JV) for the PPA’s Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS), had asked regional trial court in San Pedro, Laguna, to compel the port authority to push through with the program’s implementation.

“The project implementation is already at an advanced stage with considerable resources and time already put into it by the petitioners, who have faithfully complied with their contractual obligations,” read a portion of the petition dated July 10, 2023, seen by the Inquirer.

In the petition for interim measures for protection, contracting party said that the PPA should have already issued the Implementing Operational Guidelines (IOG), which they said was essential for them to “finalize and operationalize the project.”

Under the schedule of requirements in the agreement, the IOG should have been issued in November of last year.

“The petitioners are suffering irreparable loss and injury due to PPA’s unjust refusal to issue the IOG and implement the project in accordance with the valid and binding contract agreement,” the document read further.

Lack of jurisdiction and merit

The petition was eventually dismissed by the court on July 14, prompting the contracting party to file a motion for reconsideration, which was received by the PPA on July 25.

In another court document dated Aug. 11, 2023, that was filed by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, the defendant had asked the court to affirm the dismissal due to lack of jurisdiction and merit.

Local business groups have vehemently opposed the implementation of the TOP-CRMS over concerns that it will lead to additional cost for industry players and stakeholders.

These include the country’s largest business organization, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc., the Association of International Shipping Lines Inc., among others.

A coalition of five foreign business chambers are also in opposition to the measure citing the same concerns.

The opposition had cited that the TOP-CRMS will entail additional direct financial costs from the additional insurance fees, transaction fees and trucking fees, highlighting an increase in the cost of importing goods by as much as 50 percent or at least P35 billion per year. INQ