Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Cebu exporters lobby for changing of order
THE umbrella organization of exporters in Cebu will continue to lobby for the amendment of Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) of the Department of Agriculture Order (DAO) 1, which mandated the presence of a BPI quarantine inspector during the fumigation of export goods that require phy-tosanitary certificate.
This, after President Gloria Arroyo asked the BPI, during her meeting with the Philippine Exporters Confederation Cebu last Oct. 12, not to charge to exporters the overtime pay, meal allowance and transportation costs of BPI inspectors during the fumigation or treatment of export goods.
“Philexport-Cebu has always questioned BPI-DAO 1 series of 2004. The organization maintains that there is no law or any international standard or protocol that requires the mandatory presence of government plant quarantine inspectors during the fumigation or treatment,” Philexport-Cebu president Allan Suarez said.
Random
The presence of BPI inspectors should only be at random basis or only when the importing country so requires, he said.
In a statement, Philex-port Cebu said it will work closely with the Trade and Industry Secretary and “export enforcer” Peter Favila and Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban to expedite the issuance of department orders that will scrap all fees and related costs charged by BPI for the monitoring of fumigation or treatment of export goods.
Suarez earlier told Sun.Star Cebu that Philexport Cebu will continue to look for ways to cushion exporters from the negative effects of the strengthening of the peso against the dollar, a phenomenon that no entity in the country, but the market alone, can control.
Exporters are now cutting on operations costs, among others, to offset the losses they incur on the currency factor.
Charging
During President Arro-yo’s latest visit to Cebu, she mandated BPI to stop charging the exporters after Philexport-Cebu complained to her regarding the fees, which range from P540 to more than P1,000 per container inspected.
The fees are said to be used to reimburse overtime, transportation and meals cost of the inspectors during the performance of their jobs, as prescribed under Presidential Decree 1433 signed by then president Ferdinand Marcos.
The mandatory presence of BPI inspectors and the exorbitant fees they collect have been the “bone of contention” between BPI and the exporters.
“In the first place, BPI does not even have enough inspectors that can service the volume of outgoing container vans. Hence, exporters are forced to pay overtime charges as these inspectors need to render overtime work,” Philexport’s statement also read. (JBN)
