Investment ombudsman asked to help address high port fees

SALVADOR

Cargo forwarders have asked the newly established Investment Ombudsman to help address concerns over the higher fees imposed by the Cebu Port Authority on overstaying cargo containers.

Carmel de Pio Salvador, Cebu chapter president of the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association, Inc. (PISFA), said most of the issues they raised regarding the port authority’s Memorandum Circular 02-2015, which took effect on March 3, have not been addressed.

“We wrote to the Ombudsman to help us with our concerns because we really believe that the new guidelines in the circular is not the answer and we felt that there is still something that we can agree on that’s workable for all parties,” Salvador said.

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCCI), Cebu Business Club, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Customs Broker, Inc. share the same view.

Salvador said the Investment Ombudsman has called for a meeting with the business groups and the CPA board on May 7.

“This will be the first issue that they will be handling. Hopefully, they can help us out as this issue will really have a huge impact on us and the Cebuanos as this may result in higher consumer prices,” Salvador said.

The Investment Ombudsman, the first in the country, was set up in the last quarter of last year. It is funded by the US Agency for International Development.

“They serve as a venue for businessmen like us to air our concerns. They will help find solutions for these issues and act like a mediator,” Salvador said.

She said only one of their concerns has been addressed. She said the term five “calendar” days has been changed to five “working” days.

Other issues like the 1,800 percent increase in fees and penalties to discourage overstaying cargo containers have not been resolved. Under the new CPA storage guidelines, containers may be stored for free at the Cebu International Port for only five days.

In their letter to CPA, the business organizations said the new guidelines are “anti-poor and damaging to the Cebuanos as the consumers.”

“It is a given fact that we, as businessmen, would pass on to the consumers whatever additional costs we incur in importing and distributing the goods. Do we allow it to happen that Cebu will have higher prices than Manila and other international ports in the country?

No agreement was reached when the businessmen sat down with CPA general manager Edmund C. Tan on March 23.