21 AUGUST 2022, MANILA— Department of Transportation Undersecretary Elmer Francisco U. Sarmiento and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Officer in Charge-General Manager Francisquiel O. Mancile visited and inspected the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the Manila North Harbor to ensure efficient port operations and uninterrupted supply chain activities at the local and global levels.

With the continued reopening of the economy, MICT is set to strengthen its position as the country’s premier port through capacity expansion from 3.3 million to 3.5 million Total Equivalent Units (TEUs). The company also presented its Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT) pioneering project which offers alternative means of transporting containers through barges directly to the Tanza, Cavite Terminal. CGT encourages cargo businesses to take this initiative to minimize road traffic congestion along the cargo truck trade route from North Harbor to areas in Southern Luzon.

Major improvements at the MNHPI-managed North Harbor Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) will also be done to guarantee passenger comfort and convenience. The PTB was handling an annual passenger traffic of more than 4.5 million pre-COVID.

From these developments, Sarmiento sees orderly and congested-free Manila ports especially this coming holiday season. He reiterated the President and the Transportation Secretary’s call for safe, convenient and world-class passenger travel and affordable port-related services.

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17 AUGUST 2022, MANILA--The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) continues to rebound from the effects of the global pandemic as net income increased by 9% in the first six months of the year.

The agency’s net income is now only 13% down compared to the pre-pandemic figure. PPA's net income declined by as much as 50% during the onslaught of COVID-19 in 2020.

Data from the PPA showed that net income for the period in review reached P5.024 billion from P4.611 billion registered in 2021. Against the target of P4.056 billion, the actual figure is 24% higher.

Gross revenues, on the other hand, soared 14.28% to P9.438 billion for the period versus the P8.258 billion recorded in 2021. Expenses, meanwhile, went up 14% to P4.413 billion from P3.646 billion in 2021.

Almost all revenue streams of the PPA posted a positive deviation for the January to June 2022 period wherein the highest revenue increase came from concession fees and other income posting a 552% hike followed by storage fees that increased 55%, and domestic dockage that went up by 28%. Revenues from Lay-up operations and interest incomes suffered the biggest setbacks for the period declining by 93% and 87%, respectively.

The PPA is averaging a 9% increase in its revenues at least in the last 18 months, which is a steady pace moving toward pre-pandemic levels.

PPA is also bent on further improving its operations based on the earlier pronouncements made by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., and the Transport Secretary Jaime J. Bautista. Initially, the agency is targeting those low-hanging fruits and slowly expands from there.

Earlier, PPA reported that total cargo throughput went down 1.46% to 125.485 million metric tons (MMT) from 127.343 MMT in the same period last year. Export volume posted the most significant decrease of 14.4% dragging the total foreign cargo volume by 5.5%.

In terms of containerized cargo traffic, a 2.66% hike was recorded to reach 3.733 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) anchored on the 6.14% increase posted by imported boxed cargoes. Domestic box volume, meanwhile, declined by 1.83% to 1.413 million TEUs.

Passenger volume again posted a 144% increase with the resumption of domestic tourism, trade, and regular travel activities earlier this year.

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12 JULY 2022, MANILA—The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is set to start reviewing its operations in compliance with the directive of Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista to reduce logistics and travel costs.

In his anniversary message delivered during the 48th Founding Anniversary of the PPA on Monday, PPA Officer in Charge-General Manager Manuel A. Boholano said he already reported the initiative to Sec. Bautista in their meeting also held yesterday.

“Our first order of business is to comply with the directive of the DOTr to lower travel and shipping costs,” Boholano said in his message.

Among the areas being considered for review are statutory and regulatory costs being levied by the PPA as well as indirect costs related to the efficiency and productivity of the ports.

PPA is also set to make representations with other maritime government agencies, shipping line operators, and other port stakeholders to discuss the efficient utilization of facilities particularly in high-volume ports like the ports in Manila, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, among others, which are considered gateway ports.

PPA is also accelerating the digitalization of its processes like the Internet-based Port Operations and Receipting for Terminals System, the e-Permit Management System, the Transport Accreditation, Permits and Pass for Ports, and interconnecting with other government agencies to facilitate the movement of cargoes and turnaround time of vessels faster delivery of raw materials for shippers and businesses resulting in lower overheads and quicker travel time for regular passengers and tourists.

PPA is likewise bent to continue with its infrastructure modernization and improvement to further provide shippers, regular sea-going public, and tourists comfort and convenience while inside the ports.

Any possible reduction in port-related costs shall be on top of the existing policies being implemented like the exemptions of students, senior citizens, differently-abled Persons, uniformed personnel, and Medal of Valor Awardees and their first-degree kin in the payment of Passenger Terminal Fees in all PPA-controlled ports. Since its first application prior to the pandemic, the free terminal fee is equivalent to a benefit of close to a P7-million monthly average.

To date, the PPA continues to climb out of the negative effects of the global pandemic as passage volume posted an increase of 130% to 20.87 million passengers handled from January to May 2022 period from only 9.07 million passengers handled in the first 5 months of 2021.

Containerized cargo traffic, on the other hand, also increased by 3.84% to 3.12 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from only 3.00 million TEUs in the same period a year earlier.

Shipcalls, on the other hand, also went up 13.4% for the period compared to the 153,007 shipcalls posted in 2021.

Total cargo volume, however, remains flat at 101.74 million metric tons.

“This is a challenge that we gladly take, so let us start looking into this directive,” Boholano stressed.

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15 SEPTEMBER 2022, MANILA—The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is hosting the 2022 National Maritime Week (NMW) slated for September 19-25, 2022 with various activities lined up anchored on this year’s theme, “New Technologies for Greener Shipping.”

As planned by the National Committee, the celebration includes the dressing and simultaneous blowing of horns for ships docked at any PPA port, bloodletting, a webinar on green ports and shipping, a vlog-making contest, and the national coastal clean-up drive.

“We in PPA have been supportive of the various initiatives in the implementation of greener and sustainable port operations,” PPA Officer-In-Charge – General Manager (OIC-GM) Atty. Francisquiel O. Mancile said.

“In fact, two PPA ports namely Cagayan de Oro and Batangas have been conferred compliant with the Green Port Award System (GPAS) – a program developed by the APEC Port Services Network (APSN) – which is proof of the Authority’s commitment in attaining sustainable port operations,” Mancile added.

“We are with high hopes that this year’s celebration will bring enough impact to the public and stakeholder’s awareness of sustainable port operations, which is parallel to the directive of the President to maintain a port industry at par with global standards and best practices,” OIC-GM Mancile emphasized, adding that a sustainable port will also result in lower logistics cost which follows the marching order of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

As the lead agency for the NMW 2022, PPA’s 25 Port Management Offices (PMOs) nationwide will likewise spearhead the conduct of other activities aside from those stated above. The parallel activities include tree planting, sports festival, photography contest, Zumba, virtual maritime photo exhibition, equipment and art exhibition, the conduct of basic port operations seminar, feeding program, karaoke challenge, recycled art competition, and a COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Meanwhile, attached and line agencies of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) namely the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) will be among the co-lead stewards, in coordination with other maritime community partners from the private sector, in ensuring the successful conduct of the NMW celebration.

National Maritime Week is being celebrated annually as stipulated in Proclamation No. 866 series of 1996 in support of the unrestricted development of the local maritime industry and in response to the need for a strong and outward-looking maritime policy, signed by then President Fidel V. Ramos.

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19 SEPTEMBER 2022, MANILA—The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is reiterating its ban on all single-use plastics at all ports under its jurisdiction as it moves forward to sustainable port operations.

PPA Officer in Charge-General Manager Francisquiel O. Mancile stressed that all port managers across its 25 Port Management Offices must strictly impose the directive embedded under PPA Memorandum Circular No. 11-2021.

He added that this will also go hand in hand with the theme of the 2022 National Maritime Week Celebration: “New Technologies for Greener Shipping”.

“PPA already has an existing ban on single-use plastics. Since last year, we are not only banning the use and entry of such plastics in the ports but also in all facilities and offices under the agency,” Mancile said.

“While we do not impose any fine or penalty to erring passengers, stakeholders, and employees, we are confiscating these kinds of materials for proper disposal,” Mancile added.

PPA Memorandum Circular No. 11-2021, meanwhile, follows the National Solid Waste Management Commission Resolution No. 1363 dated 12 February 2020 directing a ban on unnecessary use of single-use plastic products in government agencies and is seen as a major leap to reduce the use of single-plastic items from polluting waterways, kill marine life and further increase the country’s solid waste.

The ban includes plastic cups thinner than 0.2 millimeters, plastic drinking straws, plastic spoons, plastic forks, plastic knives, plastic coffee stirrers, and plastic labo and thinned-filmed sando bags thinner/lighter than 15 microns.

Aside from this, PPA has also earlier partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines on the same initiatives involving three PPA ports—the North Port, Port of Batangas, and Port of Cagayan de Oro—in a bid to reduce plastic leakage at the said ports by 50% by 2023.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), which are also part of the three-pronged maritime sector of the Department of Transportation, also expressed readiness to impose similar initiatives in their areas of jurisdiction.

The PCG said they will levy heavy fines and penalties to their erring personnel who will be found violating the ban. At the same time, the MARINA will look into further strengthening the regulation imposed on local ships.

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