MINDANAO businessmen are urging the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to rehabilitate, expand, and upgrade Philippine ports to international standards to ensure the full implementation of Republic Act (RA) 10668, also known as the Foreign Ships Co-loading Act.
This was among the 20-point conference resolution Mindanao businessmen submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte at the end of the 26th Mindanao Business Conference (Minbizcon), which was held on September 7 to 9, 2017 at the Xavier Estates Sports and Country Club, Cagayan de Oro City.
"The Foreign Ships Co-loading Act has not been fully implemented as foreign ships can only dock in international ports due to berthing depth requirement that the domestic ports do not meet," the resolution states.
Hence, Mindanao businessmen are calling both the DOTr and PPA to rehabilitate, expand, and modernize domestic ports across the country to adhere to international standards especially as far as the depth of berths and mooring facilities are concerned to allow for the full implementation of the law.
With the full implementation of the Foreign Ships Co-loading Act, the resolution states that it is seen to foster healthy competition in the domestic shipping industry.
"The activities of foreign vessels in the country encourage local shipping operators to improve their equipment and operations in order to cope with their foreign counterparts and be more competitive," the resolutions stated.
It also states that allowing foreign ships to transport and/or co-load foreign cargo for domestic transshipment reduces logistics cost, which leads to lower prices for consumers, while also helping to decongest the ports of Manila.
The resolution states that RA 10668 amended the country's Cabotage Law by allowing foreign vessels to transport and co-load foreign cargoes for domestic transshipment. The law was enacted on July 21, 2015.
20-point resolution
Last September 9, 2017, Mindanao businessmen submitted the 20-point conference resolution of the 26th Mimbizcon to President Duterte enumerating their recommendations for the government in a bid to help improve the business climate of Mindanao.
"We have specifically crafted these policy recommendations to ensure that Mindanao remains a conducive place to invest and to help our local enterprises to become truly productive, competitive, and world-class," the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said in a letter to the President, which was signed by PCCI President George T. Barcelon, PCCI Vice President for Mindanao Antonio Uy, and 26th Minbizcon chairman Ruben Vegafria.
The letter adds that the conference resolutions "encompass strategic roadmaps that are expected to strategically position Mindanao to seize the Asean market, gain foothold in the global market, and capture investments coming into the Asean region and into the country."
The conference resolution's contents are on logistics, agriculture, transportation, and trade.
There is also a resolution on requesting the Mindanao Development Authority to convene the All-Moro Convention in the administration's planned systematic shift to a federal form of government.