Restraint

Few doubted the Supreme Court would affirm President Duterte’s martial law proclamation. Nevertheless, the ruling made last Tuesday assured us the balance of power in a tripartite government is alive and well.

By voting as it did, the Court affirmed the authority of the executive department to competently assess the national situation and act accordingly in the face of threats to public safety. The Court, as it has done previously, exercised judicial restraint. An adverse vote would have constituted judicial overreach and disturbed the balance of power.

To begin with, the petitions against the imposition of martial rule in Mindanao rested on ridiculous premises. The petitioners questioned the assumption a rebellion was in progress. The daily images of intense combat between our troops and the enemy in occupied Marawi mocks the argument of the petitioners.

The petitioners wanted us to indulge in hair-splitting and legalistic mumbo-jumbo over what constitutes “rebellion”. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents in the area of battle have been displaced. The body count was climbing by the day. Our brave soldiers were being cut down by sniper fire and improvised explosive devices.

It was hard to agree with those who opposed martial law. Only Justice Marvic Leonen agreed with the petitioners.

Three other justices questioned the coverage of the martial law proclamation. The attacks in North Cotabato and Zamboanga should have erased their doubts. Martial rule notwithstanding, a few Abu Sayyaf bandits were able to slip out of Marawi and return to Basilan. Without the added vigilance enabled by martial law, the enemy could have exited in droves.

Some wounded enemy fighters actually made their way to Palawan and Iloilo. Most of them were intercepted by the wide net of checkpoints set up by security forces. They might have successfully escaped had the military not been on martial law footing.

The petitions were a non-issue from the start. Either way the Court judged, the situation on the ground would have remained the same.

The magistrates, nevertheless, listened to the arguments patiently. Then they decided to rule correctly.

By exercising judicial restraint, the Court avoided a confrontation between the branches of government. Such a confrontation is really unwarranted. The petitions were trivial to begin with.

Doubly charged

Cargo handlers are strongly opposing a draft Customs Administrative Order (CAO) that will establish a temporary storage for overstaying and abandoned cargo to the North Harbor nearby. They say this will abet corruption in the Bureau, cause goods to be doubly charged for handling and storage fees, and cause a spike in prices that will be shouldered by consumers.

The Bureau very likely sees the establishment of Customs Facilities and Warehouses (CFW) as a means to decongest the container yard at the main facility. Legally, the Bureau says it is empowered by the recently enacted Customs Modernization and Tariff Act to establish such a facility.

The problem, however, is that the proposed site is in the PPA area. The PPA reserved the right to stipulate fees and charges in the area of the port that is under the agency’s control. That area is, in addition, operated by a private ports operator. The operator likewise seeks an upward adjustment in charges.

What a merry mix-up the proposed administrative order will create.

Those opposing the establishment of a CFW in the adjacent North Harbor say this is too close to the main container yard to be actually helpful to relieve congestion. Being in the immediate vicinity of the main Customs area. Containers may be shuffled between the two locations and cargo certified as “abandoned” may be easily classified as “live.”

The best practice internationally is to locate such a facility for abandoned cargo far away from the port. The distance will not only penalize those who allow their cargo to overstay. It will also make it difficult for whimsical reclassification of cargo when a deal is cut.

With the new access road from the port to the NLEX, it is probably wiser to establish the CFW somewhere in Central Luzon. That will enable the Bureau to isolate the cargo and discourage under-the-table deals. From there, the abandoned cargo may easily be disposed of (if they are perishable) or sold at auction.

At any rate, a more distant facility will more convincingly help relieve the port congestion we are experiencing at the moment. The quicker cargo is moved away from the port area, the better to prevent a horrifying pile-up of containers that makes sorting all the more difficult.

The PPA, for its part, opposes several provisions in the draft order. PPP assistant general manager Hector Miole fears that the wording of the draft order “may imply BOC will issue guidelines for storage rates as well.” The fear is that BOC will run roughshod over domain of other agencies.

Some cargo handlers are opposing the very idea of establishing a CFW, whether this is adjacent to the Customs area or distant from it. They argue that setting up such a facility will institutionalizing more red tape instead of facilitating trade.   That is contrary to President Duterte’s stated policy of streamlining government processes.

There could be a more feasible solution to the problem of overstaying cargo that causes congestion in the ports. Customs officials and the stakeholders might do well to put their heads together and try to think out of the box.

Meanwhile, the Customs commissioner might want to delay issuance of this administrative order in the face of such outcry. Like the High Tribunal, it is wiser to go the way of restraint.