Gov't to require barter players to get accredited

Mindanao Development Authority director for investment promotion and public affairs Olie Dagala said trade vessels and traders will have to be registered for security and monitoring purposes. (Lyka Casamayor)
Mindanao Development Authority director for investment promotion and public affairs Olie Dagala said trade vessels and traders will have to be registered for security and monitoring purposes. (Lyka Casamayor)

WITH the revival of the Barter Trade in Mindanao, trade vessels will soon be required to get a registration while traders will be required individual accreditation for security and monitoring purposes.

President Rodrigo Duterte issued an Executive Order (EO) no. 64 reviving the barter trade system in Mindanao in November 2018 to provide income to small communities and help secure the border of Mindanao against illegal trade and activities.

Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) director for investment promotion and public affairs Olie Dagala said during Habi at Kape media forum Wednesday, July 3, that the accreditation is one of their priorities for the barter trade system which they aim to get operationalized by next month.

“With the meeting of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Minda, hopefully it will be pushed by next month to see to it that the vessels, the people or traders, and the goods will get accreditation. There are the things that we will look into once we operate the barter trade,” Dagala said.

As per initial agreement, the accreditation is P10,000 per individual.

“The DTI will not accredit as a group but as individual so it is up for them to group if they want to but the accreditation is individual. We are looking forward to have it operationalized next month,” Dagala said.

Meanwhile, Minda deputy executive director Romeo Montenegro said non-conventional trade vessels that are considered colorum before will be registered for security reasons. Each vessel will have a designated number once registered so the security forces will be able to identify them as barter trade participants.

“It is gradually transitioning them to the formal economic set-up where they will be facilitated and assisted,” he said, adding that for a long time the informal trading was considered a “shadow economy” so the barter trade system aims to help recognize the sector and monitor its contribution.

The target operation of the barter trade in Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (EAGA) will be on the third quarter of the year.

In a joint statement issued following the 13th BIMP-Eaga Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on June 23, 2019, BIMP-Eaga leaders said they "welcome the on-going efforts to strengthen existing traditional barter trade in the BIMP-Eaga (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-Eaga) subregion."

"The signing of the Asean Memorandum of Understanding on the Improvement of Safety Standards and Inspection for Non-Convention Ships within Asean Member States, as well as the adoption of the Guidelines for Safety Standards for Non-Convention Ships on November 9, 2018 will facilitate and promote cross-border maritime safety, expand maritime trade, and improve the sustainability of barter trade," the signing ministers said.

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