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SHIPPERS
in the southern part of the Philippines urged the
government to make the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT)
in Misamis Oriental a “one-stop shop” to facilitate
trade by making it easier for port users to clear their
goods at the facility.
However,
with the current arrangement, imports and exports sent
and received through the MCT are required to go through
the Cagayan de Oro City port, a setup which business
groups say is costly, time-consuming and inconvenient.
In a
joint position paper by the Mindanao Business Council,
the Mindanao Federation of Shippers Association and the
regional office of the Philippine Exporters’
Confederation, the groups appealed to the Bureau of
Customs (BOC) to delineate its responsibility in the MCT
and give shippers a free hand in where to load and
unload their cargo.
Last
year, Malacañang declared the MCT as a subport of entry,
allowing shippers to use the port to receive and
discharge both imports and exports.
However,
the business groups said that the current arrangement
requires cargoes discharged or loaded at the terminal to
be processed, cleared and entered at the Cagayan de Oro
(CDO) port, a terminal owned by the Philippine Ports
Authority.
This
setup is adding to the cost of the shippers and time
needed to clear the cargo, the groups said.
“The
order caused confusion, inconvenience and added cost to
port users, as cargoes indicated in the inward manifest
addressed to CDO, which are actually unloaded at MCT,
will be cleared at CDO and then go back at MCT,” the
groups said in its position paper. “Additionally,
imported cargoes destined for Cagayan de Oro, including
those of del Monte and Nestlé Philippines, which are
located nearby MCT and non-Phividec [Philippine Veterans
Investment Development Corp.]- registered enterprises,
shall continue to be processed, cleared and entered at
the principal
port of
Cagayan de Oro.”
It added
that BoC Commissioner Napoleon L. Morales “should
consider trade facilitation and the aforesaid
recommendations in the issuance of Customs
Administrative Code lifting the memorandum issued last
March [2007],” that said all cargoes should be cleared
at Cagayan de Oro.
In July
last year, President Arroyo issued Executive Order 542
declaring the MCT as a subport of entry, to enhance the
economic growth and development of Northern Mindanao.
“The
expanding economic activity, as well as the increasing
needs of importers and passengers at the Mindanao
Container Terminal, demand that it be placed under the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Customs as a subport of
entry,” the order said.
MCT is
being groomed to become an alternative port outside
Cagayan de Oro, which is currently experiencing labor
issues.
MCT has
two gantry cranes and four rubber-tired gantries, and
could accommodate ships that can carry 1,500 20-foot
metal containers.
The
terminal has three regular callers: international
carrier Maersk Lines, National Marine Corp. and Lorenzo
Shipping Corp.
The
terminal has a capacity of 270,000 20-foot metal boxes
and provisions of additional backup areas if traffic so
requires. |
