THE Philippine Ports Authority on Wednesday rebuffed Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina and directed its port management office in Manila North Harbor to disallow the Manila North Harbor Port Inc. (MNHPI) to operate as an international port operator, citing the company’s exclusive domestic port contract with the PPA.
PPA officer-in-charge and assistant general manager for operations Raul Santos called the attention of Lina, who also sits on the board of the PPA, that the Customs chief’s series of memoranda and administrative issuances place MNHPI in direct violation of its terminal contract with the PPA should MNHPI handle foreign cargo.
Santos issued a memorandum order on June 21 in response to Lina’s June 2 memo enjoining the PPA to allow foreign vessels to dock at the Manila North Harbor.
Lina later admitted he granted the NMHPI the status as an Authorized Customs Facility or ACF to engage in international trade because its owner, businessman Ramon Ang, was a friend.
Lina also insisted that his memo in favor of Ang was not a “midnight deal” but that he would have granted the AFC to his company even if it were his “last day in office or last minute in office on June 30.”
But Santos reminded Lina that the Manila North Harbor has always been treated as a domestic port as mandated by Presidential Decree No. 857 or the Revised PPA Charter.
“MNHPI’s contract was the result of a competitive public bidding in 2009 where the terms of the bid parameters limit the cargo handling operations to domestic cargo only,” Santos said.
“If the PPA doesn’t want to do it, then don’t,” Lina said in reaction to Santos’ memo, but did nothing to rescind his memos in favor of MNHPI.
Santos’ order, PPA Memorandum Order 08–2016 dated 21 June, was issued to the Manila North port manager, harbor pilots, and all shipping lines and shipping agents.
“Section 4.02, Article IV of the Contract for Development, Management, Operation and Maintenance of the Manila North Harbor between the PPA and MNHPI expressly provides that MNHPI shall provide to undertake DOMESTIC terminal services only at the Manila North Harbor,” the PPA memo said.
“In view of this contractual limitation, MNHPI is prohibited from providing terminal services to foreign vessels at Manila North Harbor. Accordingly, foreign vessels cannot proceed to Manila North Harbor for purposes of anchorage and/or docking at its berth and unloading of their cargoes, among others,” it added.
Under its charter, PPA is the sole regulator over the ports.
“North Harbor has very low fixed fees and no variable royalties to the government. This was granted in an effort to encourage them to truly modernize North Harbor as a gateway for domestic trade,” the PPA said.
On June 8, MNHPI submitted a letter to the PPA expressing its readiness to provide services to foreign vessels and to handle foreign cargo.
San Miguel Corp. earlier acquired a 43.33 percent interest in MNHPI. A San Miguel-owned company Petron Corp., holds another 35 percent, giving the conglomerate a 78.33 percent interest in the port terminal company.
MNHPI has a 25-year contract to manage, develop and operate the 52-hectare seaport terminal. With Darwin G. Amojelar