The South Cotabato Integrated Port Services Inc. (SCIPSI) is the cargo-handler at the multi-purpose Makar Wharf at the Port of General Santos, a transshipment hub for the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
The company, which boasts a complete and modern fleet of cargo-handling equipment, is the top income tax filer and second ranking VAT (value-added tax) filer in Revenue District (RD) 110.
For 2000, SCIPSI paid an income tax amounting to P3,211,904 and was recognized as the top income tax filer for the year.
For 2001, it paid an income tax amounting to P4,365,266, or more than a million pesos higher than the preceding year.
Although SCIPSI only has a two-year, renewable management contract with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), it is bound by the same contract to make massive and long-term investments in port facilities.
"Considering SCIPSI’s present capital investment and the benefits enjoyed by port users and its workforce, the rollback of cargo tariff rates will jeopardize the additional capital investment in the proposed 10-year plan which SCIPSI submitted last March 19," SCIPSI general manager Rico Cruz said.
Cruz said the port modernization program of the national government, as outlined in PPA Administrative Order 001-2001 dated July 2, 2001, involves massive capital investments in cargo-handling equipment, information technology and continuing education and manpower development.
SCIPSI made these investments despite the absence of a long-term contract with the PPA, and prior to the issuance of PPA-AO 001-2001, Cruz said.
In a statement, SCIPSI said it believes that if it sets the pace for port modernization, the national, provincial and city governments will recognize the company’s contribution to economic development.
Currently, SCIPSI holds a temporary contract that has been extended twice for a year each: twice for three months and the latest for six months. Its six-month temporary contract will expire on June 30 this year.
Cruz said flexible shipping freight rates, not the fixed port tariffs, are the main causes for the high cost of transporting goods.
"The substantial cost components are activities outside the port area and thus, are not port-related costs," he said. "More often than not, the non-port-related costs are twice or thrice the arrastre cost, depending on the site of the shipper/consignee to and from the port," he said.