BoC’s digitization will help PH trade - says shipping firm | Business and Politics
Patrick Ronas, president and CEO of Mstar Ship Agencies Inc. and Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL), says that the digitization of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), which is closely related with the shipping industry, will help the country’s trade industry.
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Patrick Ronas, president and CEO of Mstar Ship Agencies Inc. and Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL), says that the digitization of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), which is closely related with the shipping industry, will help the country’s trade industry.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Sir, when we talk about your industry, I think the association we make is with the ports.
00:07 So how is the situation now in Metro Manila?
00:12 Because when we talked several years ago, there were issues about decongesting it
00:19 and relieving the traffic congestion in Manila as well as a result of it
00:23 and also maybe moving some of that business to other ports like Batangas and Subic.
00:29 But how do you see things from your perspective in Manila, maybe?
00:34 Well, as of now, the terminals in Manila is basically, there's no, one thing that I can say,
00:41 there's no port congestion, it's open, it's got room to handle more cargo.
00:47 If you talk about MICT and ATI.
00:50 So we've learned from the, have we learned from the past?
00:53 Yes, I guess so. And one thing that I can say, the terminals actually did a good job
01:00 in trying to make sure that all backlogs are actually cleared.
01:03 And they use the best technologies and you see our port operators in Manila,
01:11 like for example, ICTSI also has contracts working in other ports in other parts of the world.
01:19 Yes.
01:20 And Terminal Sink is owned by DP World, again, another…
01:23 Multinational, yes.
01:24 Multinational and they also operate in other parts of the world.
01:28 So what do they do?
01:29 For sure, they take the best practices that are happening all over, the best technology,
01:34 and they bring it to us and we're thankful for that.
01:38 And they continue to develop systems, technology,
01:44 to make sure that there's more transparency in the way we deal with them.
01:48 So that's fine. I mean, that's very much welcome.
01:51 And so it moves freely. It moves freely.
01:55 They're not so popular with some other stakeholders,
02:01 but then again, it's something that we have to accept.
02:04 This is a price of progress.
02:05 Sure.
02:06 Are you happy with what you're hearing from the government?
02:09 Because President Marcos has mentioned a number of things that's related to your sector.
02:14 He was talking about the blue economy, he was talking about modernizing some ports,
02:20 but I think in the context more of fishing, but he's talking also about digitalization.
02:26 Is he hitting the right notes from where you are that will help boost your industry?
02:37 Okay, digitalization is something that we cannot get away from.
02:44 That's happening all across industries.
02:47 If you want to do things more efficiently, more cost efficiently,
02:51 you have to go and digitize your process for transparency and all that.
02:55 So what I can say is that dealing with the terminals, we're already digitized.
03:01 Shipping lines also have their own digitalization platform.
03:04 Private sector is way ahead of the government.
03:07 Usually way ahead.
03:09 So our terminals are run privately.
03:11 As I mentioned, they take all the best practices in the world and they are digitized.
03:17 So as far as we are concerned, we're not a mom and pop operation.
03:22 We're not a simple Sari Sari store.
03:24 What we do is that we integrate.
03:26 So it makes the work much better.
03:30 But then of course, there are protocols that you have to change,
03:34 but then again, people adjust eventually.
03:36 So that's the way it goes.
03:38 We're also looking forward to very recently the Bureau of Customs
03:42 pushing forward their digitalization as well.
03:45 So that will help trade.
03:47 And I think the new Customs Commissioner will be pushing for that.
03:55 I see. Is that going to streamline or make the flow faster?
04:01 I guess if it's faster, the idea is it saves you money, right?
04:05 Or at least it doesn't add to your cost if it's fast, right?
04:11 Correct.
04:12 Eventually, if everybody is all digitized,
04:15 you can come up with a common platform where you integrate things or connect.
04:21 So what will happen eventually is that you as an importer,
04:26 in the comfort of your home, you move and work on your shipment.
04:32 You make a release at any time of the day.
04:36 That's the good thing about it.
04:37 You don't have to travel. You don't have to traffic and all that.
04:41 Is there something the government should be talking about more
04:44 or maybe should introduce that maybe they should touch on something else
04:50 that you haven't heard from them yet that will be helpful?
04:53 Well, we currently have an issue, but I think the government is the heart.
05:05 So the good thing about this is that we have the DTI taking a look at our issues,
05:15 our problems. The DOTR is now very receptive to some of the issues we have.
05:22 And Bureau of Customs, we've had several dialogues with them about how we can help them.
05:30 We can help them help us and us help them.
05:34 So it's doing good. It's doing good as far as that area is concerned.
05:39 We have a bit of an issue with the Philippine Ports Authority.
05:44 Because it wants to come up with their own system or platform or process,
05:50 which we think is a duplication.
05:52 It's redundant.
05:53 It's redundant. It's a duplication because they're touching on grounds which we think they should not.
06:01 It's not in their mandate. It's not their watch.
06:06 So that's where we are with that.
06:10 The good thing is that after a careful evaluation, the Anti-Red Tip Authority made a turnaround
06:19 and said that it has no legal basis.
06:25 They did a good job.
06:27 I mean, ARTA did a good job in trying to look for what are the basic or what's going to happen when this comes into play.
06:35 For those who don't follow the industry as closely as you do,
06:40 can you give some examples or maybe explain that a little bit better,
06:45 what exactly the PPA is trying to do and where the objection is?
06:50 Okay. The PPA, the role of the PPA in the country or in the government,
06:58 they're guided by PD 857, where it needs Presidential Decree 857,
07:03 where it basically provides the guidelines or what their role are in the development of our ports.
07:13 It's very important, mind you.
07:14 The Philippine Ports Authority is very important because we're 7,100 islands.
07:19 So two years ago, we received disturbing news.
07:26 We were invited to a meeting and they said that we would like to monitor your containers.
07:31 Our shipping lines containers.
07:33 And these are international containers.
07:35 Sure.
07:36 Inside the terminals, and if it's a PPA-controlled terminal, sure, it's under your mandate.
07:42 But as far as watching the container or monitoring the container as it enters and then eventually leaves the country,
07:50 that's the Bureau of Customs.
07:52 So that's where the duplication is.
07:53 So that's one. That's where the duplication is.
07:56 And they want to put up an app for that.
07:58 And we have to do another set of jobs or processes to do that.
08:04 Not only us, but other stakeholders as well.
08:06 You're talking about your truckers, your consignees, your customs brokers, your truckers, consignees, and the shipping lines, of course.
08:14 So with that, when you add on a process, then are you being efficient?
08:19 You're supposed to cut down the processes and make sure that you do it accurately.
08:23 And that's what ARTA is looking at.
08:25 That's what ARTA took a look at, and they said, "No, it will not do that."
08:31 But then again, ARTA can't stop.
08:33 It's still up to the government agency or the head of the agency to continue with what they want.
08:38 Is there dialogue happening still, or is that a done deal?
08:43 Well, so far, as far as dialogue with us or any other stakeholder, say, consultation that's been made, I think we only attended two of them.
08:54 And from there, what we've been doing is that we've just been writing letters.
08:59 They said something in the media, we come out with a statement, or one of the stakeholders come out with a statement.
09:05 So that's where we are with this at the moment.
09:07 But so far, because of that turnaround with ARTA, we hope that the board of the Philippine Ports Authority eventually revoke it.
09:17 We want a revocation.
09:19 Right now, don't get me wrong, the PPA board has actually deferred it indefinitely.
09:25 But we don't want a deferment. We want a revocation.
09:28 Why do we want a revocation? Not impersonal.
09:31 But you see, the problem in the Philippines is that, or the problem in the ports in Manila, is that we get affected by weather disturbances.
09:44 So when weather disturbances happen, the ports will stop. Just very recently, look what happened.
09:50 The rains have stopped, the rains have come out, but because of very strong winds, since we're using, in our terminals, we're using these modern tango cranes, because of the wind factor, it has to stop.
10:03 Otherwise, it might fall on cargo, fall on people, fall on ships.
10:08 So they have to stop. So that happens all the time.
10:11 And this is what, so we don't call it, we have these bumps some of the time, and it happens every year.
10:19 And what are they? Long holidays. That's why.
10:23 So, you know, we want to keep things moving. You stop people from withdrawing cargo in the terminal for a day because it's a holiday.
10:32 And if it happens for, especially during Holy Week, and the port.
10:38 The backlog, build up, yeah.
10:40 The backlog will happen, and it will take a couple of weeks for the terminals for it to recover.
10:46 And then if you're coupled with, like right now, I heard we're having another three more typhoons coming in within a month.
10:53 So I hope it doesn't stop the terminals, or it goes further up and doesn't hit land.
10:59 So when that happens, we have port restriction. It's not port congestion, port restriction.
11:05 The problem is, if it gets clogged, some people might say, "It's congested again."
11:11 So what will happen next?
11:13 And this system is actually being touted as an anti-port congestion tool, which we think it is not.
11:20 Because terminals, as I mentioned, is handling things very well.
11:23 They have the know-how, they have the technology to actually make it work.
11:28 And the thing here is that these terminals are actually authorized or have been contracted by PPA to do the work.
11:37 So it's them.
11:38 So just to clarify, you're not against digitalization, because as you said, you're already digitalized.
11:42 Yes, we're already digitalized.
11:43 You're working with PPA. Your only concern is really the ease of doing business. Is that the right way to go?
11:48 The ease of doing business, and we don't believe that it's also addressing other things.
11:53 Also addressing other things in the shipping industry, which they don't have any mandate of.
11:59 And that's doing something about ensuring the container detention deposit.
12:06 I mean, not all shipping lines actually render that.
12:11 But they want to charge a fee. A fee is an outright cost.
12:15 A deposit is like an asset where you can use it later on.
12:20 Like when you rent a house, you can advance and make a deposit.
12:23 If later on you vacate, you use the remaining month.
12:27 Or if there's nothing to repair, when you left the abode, money gets back to you.
12:34 At the end of the day, the people or the consumers will have to pay for it.
12:41 Yes, of course, because it's an added expense.
12:43 And we're not talking about a small expense.
12:44 There's no click. When e-commerce came about, when they started out, they were selling you products in their marketplace.
12:58 It gets delivered to you. Free delivery. No cost.
13:01 And then we started charging, you were happy.
13:03 Okay, small amount. It gives you the best service or it gives you convenience, then you go for it.
13:09 But in this case, we don't see that happening.
13:11 It's a big expense. It's going to affect every Filipino.
13:16 We're all dependent. Mahirap, mayaman, lahat san magiging apektado.
13:21 And I think we've made that clear to those who are in government and watching over the logistics sector.
13:32 And I think we've proven to them that right now things are moving very well.
13:41 You can see the ports. Maluwag si. So wala namang problem.
13:46 Credit to PPA.
13:47 So anyway, very interesting. This is not the time, as you said, to pay more already pinched by the inflation in general.
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