Government to tightly supervise ports amid complaints vs LGUs

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The national government will tightly supervise the country’s ports and upgrade their standards following numerous complaints against local governments running some of the facilities, including imposition of high fees on roll-on and roll-off (ro-ro) vessels.

Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Elena Bautista told reporters that her agency is drafting an executive order that will impose certain requirements on all ports, including those being run by local government units (LGUs).

“This (EO) will increase our supervision on ports that do not belong to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). There should be a standard design,” Bautista said.

The PPA is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

In a late night chat with reporters in Mambajao, Camiguin, President Arroyo expressed exasperation over some LGUs that impose fees on docking ro-ro vessels when they are not allowed to do so under Memorandum Circular 2004-001 of the Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG).

Under the law, it is the PPA alone that should impose fees on the vessels, officials said.

The President said the imposition of hefty fees by LGUs defeats the purpose of the ro-ro system to reduce the cost of transporting cargo and passengers.

“But we have a market-oriented solution,” Mrs. Arroyo said, referring to incidents where ro-ro vessels dock in other nearby ports where fees are not charged by the LGUs.

“There are a lot of ports so if you are not satisfied with one, then get another. That is a market-oriented solution. That’s competition,” she said. 

She pointed out that some private ro-ro operators have filed cases against LGUs that have illegally imposed fees, including the municipal government of Caticlan in Aklan.

Mrs. Arroyo led Cabinet members and members of media on Monday for a three-day out-of-town trip that began in Sorsogon and ended in Cagayan de Oro to signify the completion of the Central Nautical Highway, part of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).

The SRNH consists of three major routes: the Western Nautical Highway, which links Manila and Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte; the Central Nautical Highway, which provides a route between Pilar, Sorsogon and Balingoan, Misamis Oriental; and the Eastern Nautical Highway, which connects Biliran, Eastern Samar and Surigao City.

Officials said the SRNH cuts transport costs by as much as 45 percent.

Bautista said the President ordered her to warn concerned LGUs that their authority to control ports would be taken back.

She said while the PPA regulates all ports, LGUs were allowed to control some of these by virtue of various memoranda of agreement.

She warned erring LGUs that the PPA may opt not to renew its agreements with them, which, in turn, would allow the agency to regain control of some ports.

Bautista said they have received complaints from ship owners that some LGUs are charging as high as P1,000 per vessel. 

She said the PPA would also prescribe common standards for all ports, including private ones, to help improve industry revenues.

She said 114 ports are under the PPA while more than a thousand belong to LGUs.