Detractors have shifted to full gear against the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System or TOP-CRMS as the Philippine Ports Authority, which oversees all sea gateways, indicated its determination to start full digitalization starting in Metro Manila before June.
TOP-CRMS will automate all port operations such as the monitoring of trucks and inspection of cargoes which is expected to greatly reduce irregularities and consequently raise government revenues.
Vested interests that benefit greatly from the defective system do not want any changes to happen and are doing their best to stop the inroads of technology.
In the guise of protecting consumers from high commodity prices, the opponents of change claim that full automation will cost traders a 50 percent increase in import costs which would total P35 billion a year.
The amount constitutes the fees that go to the government in contrast to the current shipping costs that go straight to the pocket of shipping lines.
Such shipping charges are supposedly refundable but in actual practice, these are never returned.
Customs brokers and importers attest to the extreme delay in the return container deposits, a waiting time of six months to more than a year with deductions, and a lot of times not at all.
Based on the experiences of stakeholders, less than ten percent of containers suffer damage before they are returned to the shipping lines and thus charges should not be collected.
Nonetheless, the charges from shipping lines include such fees routinely.
Thus, the argument about additional costs is being spread to create public outcry based on unfounded data.
The cost of P980 in service fee for each container against P30,000 in deposit as causing the supposed increase in the cost of goods is simply fantastic.
In all, importers pay container deposit insurance and monitoring fees of P980 and P3,408 in handling fees for the empty boxes.
The entire effort to stop the implementation of the TOP-CRMS is all about maintaining the status quo rather than the fees which are equivalent to what most truckers shell out nightly for road apprehensions.
PPA general manager Jay Santiago said the numbers are being bloated to scare the people and discredit the program.
“We are curious about where they are getting their numbers because ours are based on actual statistics and documentation,” Santiago added.
There is also the issue of insurance coverage, whose cost critics said remains undisclosed.
The truth, however, is that the choice of the insurance provider is not the PPA’s call.
Under the proposed PPS guidelines for the automation program, importers and brokers are given the choice from a list of accredited insurance companies, which will need to pass stringent requirements.
Digitalization will naturally deprive many of those in the logistics and shipping business of the income generated from the chaotic conditions at the ports.
The more problems that hinder quick delivery, the better for some stakeholders resulting in what was described as paralyzingly logistics costs.
Making the port operations efficient does have a catch in terms of costs but in the long haul, so to speak, the faster movement of goods through the automated system will mean more income for traders and a healthier economy.