PPA: Proposed reform cuts container deposit by 95%

MANILA, Philippines — Importers paid at least P33 billion in container deposits to shipping lines last year, but this could go down by 95 percent under the digital system for cargo monitoring proposed by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum yesterday, PPA general manager Jay Santiago said importers shell out around P30,000 for every container that they take from shipping lines as a form of guarantee for the return of the unit once the goods inside it are delivered.

Based on records, Santiago said domestic ports facilitated about 1.1 million containers in 2022, benefitting from the lifting of border restrictions and the recovery of world trade.

Using these figures, the PPA estimates that importers spent some P33 billion for their container deposits alone last year. Santiago said this could be lowered in the future with the enforcement of the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS).

The TOP-CRMS will charge a standard fee of P980 for container monitoring in lieu of the current rates that run up to P30,000. As such, Santiago said importers would spend just P1.08 billion, or 95 percent less, for the container deposit of 1.1 million containers.

In an interview with The STAR, PPA assistant general manager Elmer Cadano said it remains to be seen, however, when the agency can pilot the system for implementation.

In January the PPA board of directors – voting five against four – decided to put the TOP-CRMS on hold indefinitely due to mounting pressure from business groups to junk it.

Sources privy to the meeting said that the Department of Trade and Industry, echoing the issues raised by its stakeholders, moved for the motion to defer implementation of the TOP-CRMS.

With this, Cadano said the PPA has no idea when it can start piloting the system at ground level, but the agency hopes that it can test its efficiency within the year.

Although PPA’s directors convene once a month, there is no certainty that the TOP-CRMS will be included in the agenda at the next meeting.

“Our board meets once a month. We will have a meeting toward the end of February subject to the availability of the Cabinet secretaries, but whether or not the TOP-CRMS will be listed as an agenda remains to be a question right now,” Cadano said.

Similar to Santiago, Cadano hopes that the TOP-CRMS will be deployed, given that the agency has hired a contractor who had already spent for the development of the system and its utilities.

Fortunately for the PPA, the agency has yet to shoulder any expense related to TOP-CRMS, as it agreed to pay the contractor on a container basis.