The deferment of the plan to automate the ports starting with the capital Manila is being exploited by those who want the modernization push to fail by spreading innuendoes.
One allegation is that the proposed scheme is untested since the Philippines will be the first to use it.
PPA general manager Jay Santiago said the system will only be applied in the country specifically to end the atrocious charges by shipping lines, primarily container deposits that are charged only to Filipino importers.
There are two types of fees on shipping services, which are the freight charges that cover the amount collected at the point of origin, and the destination bills which are those paid upon arrival of the container.
The hidden charges come mostly when the shipments arrive.
The charges imposed by shipping lines cannot even be disputed by the importers.
Most of the cash deposits are never returned or, if a refund is given, the shipping companies charge additional fees that traders have no choice but to pay.
Traders said the deposits average P30,000.
In discussions among shipping lines and other stakeholders, the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System or TOP-CRMS was identified as a solution to the festering problems.
As a result of the unsubstantiated claims by those opposed to it, the TOP-CRMS was deferred to allow for more consultations.
Another lie being peddled is that the suspension was the result of a meeting between President Bongbong Marcos and the top-level private sector advisory council and the PPA.
Santiago belied this, saying the PPA was never part of any presentation given to the President.
The majority of the PPA board decided to defer the implementation of the full digitalization of the ports to allow the review process to start and allow more information to flow to stakeholders.
The PPA is banking on the TOP-CRMS to also solve the scourge of inefficiency and widespread smuggling that hounds the country’s ports.
The TOP-CRMS will also be key to improving the ranking of the Philippines in the Ease of Doing Business yearly review of the World Bank which global investors use as a guide.
Under TOP-CRMS, a trader will shell out only P980 in service fees and P3,408 in empty container handling service fees against the P30,000 container deposit paid to shipping lines in the current system.
Santiago said the order to defer the project has yet to be released by the PPA board, but he said port officials are taking the board’s word that there is such an order.
The hiatus, according to Santiago, will be put to good use to further study the program, to make sure that it complies with the directive of the President, and to ensure that the program will address the ease of doing business objective.
The government does not intend to scrap the project despite the incessant noise directed at it.
A meeting held among officials of the Department of Transportation, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, the Anti-Red Tape Authority, and the Bureau of Customs on Tuesday indicated that the process leading to the adoption of the system is moving.
An intelligent discussion among the parties in the critical trade sector will bear out the need for full digitalization.
Even President Marcos wants the system in place, but he said it will have to be perfect when it is implemented to convince the doubting Thomases.