Foreign, local business groups join fight vs. PPA’s TOP-CRMS

In a strong show of solidarity, 24 business groups, including the prominent foreign chambers in the country, have joined forces to urge President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to scrap the Philippine Port Authority’s (PPA) contentious container registry, monitoring, and storage program (TOP-CRMS).

In a joint statement, the business groups also implored President Marcos to remain vigilant against interest groups pressuring his administration to enforce a flawed program that has consistently faced opposition from both the public and private sectors.

“We would like to congratulate (President Marcos) on the achievements of your administration as you enter your second year in office. Under your leadership, inflation has slowed down from 8.7% in January 2023 to 5.4% in June 2023,” the groups said.

“We remain one with you in continuing to protect the purchasing power of families by ensuring food security and reducing transport and logistic costs,” they added.

However, the groups feared that PPA’s TOP-CRMS could effectively erase the Marcos administrations’ early gains.

“PPA’s AO 04-2021 will erase the administration’s gains against inflation,” the groups warned.

The foreign business groups who joined the local business community in the fight versus TOP-CRMS include the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AMCHAM), European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (JCCIPI), Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (CANCHAM), and the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (KCCP).

The local business groups include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP), Philippine Association of Meat Processors (PAMPI), Alliance of Container Yard Operators of the Philippines (ACYOP), Pasig Port Users United, Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA), Philippine Ships’ Agents Association (PSAA), Practicing Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCBAPI), Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc (PAMURI), Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT), Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI), Alliance of Concerned Truck owners and Organizations (ACTOO), Association of International Shipping Lines, Inc. (AISL), Customs Brokers Federation of the Philippines (CBFP), Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association, Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association, Inc. (PMTLAI), Port Users Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (PUC), and United Portusers Confederation of the Philippine, Inc. (UPC).

The ports authority has yet to react to the statement as of posting time.

The business groups are now united in their plea to President Marcos to urgently and explicitly repeal PPA Administrative Order No. 04-2021. Additionally, they call on the President to admonish public officials who dismiss valid concerns from private and public stakeholders, in contrast to the administration’s “whole-of-government approach” in public administration.

“More alarming than the lack of a sound legal and empirical basis surrounding PPA AO 04-2021 is the additional P35 billion annual importation cost that could once again drive inflation in the Philippines,” they said.

The organizations also emphasized that the PPA has no jurisdiction over the matter of container deposits, and any action taken in this regard should be left to the legislative branch of government. House Bill No. 04933, also known as the International Maritime Trade Competitiveness Act, is currently addressing this issue and should not be preempted by PPA AO 04-2021.

“PPA’s proposed container monitoring system duplicates existing digital/container tracking and booking applications of international shipping lines, terminal/off-dock CY operators. It is merely an unnecessary additional layer of bureaucracy that has no clear benefit to the public,” they said.

They added:” PPA AO 04-2021 will waste precious public funds under the guise of “digitization” when the Bureau of Customs already has an ongoing World bank-supported digitalization and modernization strategy to curb smuggling.”

They accused PPA of disregarding best practices in other countries with large container ports, such as Singapore, on the alternative ways to implement the supposed objectives of the program.

The implementation of PPA’s AO 04-2021 has been deferred due to vehement objections from multitude of stakeholders, economic managers, business groups, transport associations, and the international community, the groups said.

Following a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Public Service, which Senator Grace Poe chairs, the senator opined that the TOP-CRMS should not push through after hearing the comments and testimonies of the private stakeholders and government officials.