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Friday, March 29, 2024

Time to step in

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"How do we regulate these new couriers?"

 

 

It’s no secret the Philippines is home to the one of the fastest-growing Internet populations with no less than 76-million Filipinos actively hooked on the web as per the result of a survey conducted by We Are Social. 

With the growing number of Internet subscribers, e-commerce also rises. It will see a dramatic surge from 2016 with a projected annual growth of 101.4 until 2020. CNN, citing figures from Statista, reported the Philippine e-commerce market revenue grew to $844 million or P44 trillion in 2018 from $688 million or about P36 trillion in 2017.

This is where the government should step in. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, so goes the rise of the demand for courier and freight forwarding services, which has started sprouting like mushrooms. Such services are supposed to be regulated by the Department of Industry—for the accreditation and regulation functions for domestic and international sea freight forwarding, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, specifically the Postal Regulations Division—for courier services and the Civil Aeronautics Board—for both domestic and international air freight forwarders.

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Presently, there are only 354 air freight forwarders with Certificate of Authority to Operate issued by the CAB (the figure may have since changed), 769 sea freight forwarders accredited by the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau of the DTI and 113 couriers accredited by the DICT-PRD. 

But while the figures cited is said to be still too small to cater to the logistic needs  of the whole country in view of the growing narket for e-commerce, it is quite alarming that outside of these numbers are unlicensed couriers which pose danger to the interest and welfare of local e-commerce clienteles.

These unlicensed couriers include small players like those catering to on-demand delivery, like Grab Delivery and Grab Food, Transportify, Angkas Delivery and Lalamove which can be availed by simply downloading their apps on smartphones.

Lacking the needed training and qualifications, these unlicensed couriers and forwarders are prone to exploitation by unscrupulous individuals to apply, and later on steal, lose or damage the property of customers. Worse, customers are left uncertain with regard to whom to run after the value of their lost, damaged, or pilfered shipments. There is no clear identity of the liable party, as these operators claim their drivers are simply independent contractors, which means these operators are simply facilitators. Like, has anyone asked who will be responsible for food poisoning should arise when one orders from a fastfood chain utilizing these kind of services?

Recently, newspaper reported of a Grab driver uncovering a scheme used by drug traffickers. Refusing to open the package he was tasked to deliver, the Grab driver reported directly to the police who discovered the package containing drugs.

In another instance, a TNVS driver was arrested while delivering another drug package to a consignee.

The Quiapo explosion in May 2017 was also traced to a package sent and carried by a Grab driver to its consignee.

This writer recently fell victim to an unscrupulous courier (or independent contractor) when a credit card supposed to be delivered to me was instead delivered to another individual and was used to make online purchases using the card issued to my name.

But aside from these small players, big-time players have also invaded the logistics services sans any license to operate.

Among them are Ninja Express Tech Philippines, or Ninja Van; the PH Global Jet Express, Inc or J&T Express and the AAI Logistics Cargo Express, Inc. or Black Arrow Express.

According to the accreditation list released by DTI-FTEB last April 30, Ninja Van has no accreditation to operate. It has also reportedly failed to secure a Certificate to Operate from CAB. Aside from that, Ninja Van, according to its General Information Sheet, is 99.995 percent owned by Ninja Logistics PTE, LTD, a Singaporean firm. 

But as it is aware of the provisions in the articles in the National Economy ad Patrimony in the constitution requiring a 60-40 sharing of local and foreign ownership, Ninja Van reportedly acquired 40 percent of the total shareholdings of Wall Street Courier Services Inc. a local company accredited by DICT-PRD. 

However, a copy of a sales invoice issued by the company to one of its clienteles is said to bear the name of Ninja Van, and not that of Wall Street.

In the case of J&T Express, while the company had recently secured a license as forwarder from the DTI-FTEB and the CAB, it reportedly still has no license as a courier from the DICT-PRD. And yet it supposedly renders courier services to unsuspecting clienteles.

Black Arrow, for its part, might be guilty of operating outside the area it is allowed to operate. Black Arrow is supposedly allowed to operate only within the National Capital Region but is said to be maintaining warehouse in areas as far as Mandaue City and Tacloban City.

Sadly, while these companies may have been operating illegally for years, the responsible government agencies have been doing nothing to put a halt to their unlawful operations.

Has their monitoring mechanism failed or they are simply turning a blind eye on these alleged illegal courier/forwarding companies, in the process, endangering the security, interests and welfare of the people whom they are bound to protect?

With the DICT now under the helm of former Senator Gringo Honasan, we expect his agency to be more serious in monitoring and even controlling the logistics service industry, totally eliminating the so-called colorum couriers and forwarders.

It also prayed that Congress revisits the outdated laws regulating and controlling the operations of couriers and forwarders and amends the law to ensure the protection of those who avail of these services.

It’s about time the different concerned agencies step into the matter, seriously, firmly and aggressively.

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