|
OWNERS
and operators of private Philippine ports have expressed
indignation at an initiative to amend regulations
governing their facilities, saying that the changes
would limit their market and work in favor of
government-run terminals.
Amado
Gurango, president of the Association of Private Port
Operators and Owners of the Philippines Inc., told
reporters last week that while its members understand
the Philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) need to raise
rates, the move threatens some of its members’
operations.
“The
proposal of the PPA to increase the privilege fee by
more than 500 percent is too exorbitant,” Gurango said,
adding that the group’s members would agree to a rate
hike of 10 percent.
Gurango,
who also heads the Philippine Flour Mills Corp., told
reporters that the amendments, if approved, will allow
the port body to treat private facilities the same as
government-controlled terminals such as the Asian
Terminals Inc. (ATI), which manages the South Harbor,
and the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI),
which runs Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).
These two properties are owned by the PPA.
Under
the proposal, a private port may be disallowed from
handling government rice and sugar imports if it falls
within a 27-nautical-mile radius from a publicly owned
facility.
The port
body can choose either the South Harbor or the MICT
rather than Harbour Centre’s facilities in Tondo, Manila
for commodity imports even though the latter charges
cheaper rates. Privately run Harbour Centre is located a
kilometer away from the MICT and offers tariff rates 50-
percent lower compared to those levied at government
facilities. Its operations, however, are limited to bulk
shipments and containerized cargo for its exporters.
The port
agency and Harbour Centre are not in good terms since
the former has never approved the latter’s application
to handle containers belonging to entities other than
its locators.
A court
case regarding Harbour Centre’s bid for the
privatization of the Manila North Harbor, a facility
owned by PPA, is currently ongoing.
Currently, all private ports are remitting privilege
fees worth anywhere from P10,000 to P20,000 each to the
PPA annually. Meanwhile, fees paid by both ATI and ICTSI
comprise 40 percent of the agency’s total annual
revenues.
Many
local businesses manage its own facilities as part of
its operations including RFM Corp., Petron Corp., and
San Miguel Corp.
All of
private port operators are bound by PPA’s Administrative
Order 6-95, signed in December 1995 by then PPA general
manager Carlos L. Agustin. |
