Cebuano businessmen and the Cebu Port Authority is asking President Benigno Aquino III to show the use of the berthing space at the back of the Malacanang sa Sugbo. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
The Cebu Port Authority (CPA) and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) requested President Benigno Aquino III requesting the return of the berthing spaces at Malacañang sa Sugbo (MSS).
The letter was signed by CPA General Manager Edmund Tan and Ma. Teresa Chan, president of CCCI which was sent last October 2, 2014.
The letter states that they the berthing space is needed “to decongest the Cebu International Port (CIP) due to containers that have been piling up because most of these have issues with Bureau of Customs (BOC) that cannot be withdrawn.”
“The port congestion situation has been seriously affecting the business in Cebu so much,” the letter also stated.
Rene Bacon, CIP manager told Cebu Daily News, they are also requesting the berthing space at Malacañang sa Sugbo to prevent port congestion.
He said the congestion started in August last year because of the new policy they are implementing which is online registration of all importers. They also reexamined all container vans and the beefed up their anti-smuggling efforts.
Tan and Chan said in their letter that if their request is approved, foreign vessels carrying bulk cargoes like rice import by the National Food Authority (NFA) no longer need to wait for days before they can dock and the government will earn more as the CIP will have a more efficient operations.
Also, the acceleration of trade and commerce will dispel the impression that the government is inefficient and cannot exercise simple flexibility to meet the needs of the business sectors and propel economic growth.
The CIP measures 14 hectares that can accommodate 7,700 container vans. There are 2,000 vans that arrive every week and 450 vans are released in a day.
The berthing space at Malacañang sa Sugbo was restricted when former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo used the old BOC building as her extension of office.