The Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines joins other business groups in calling for improvements to logistics efficiencies and reduction of logistics costs, particularly during the period of enhanced community quarantine across the Philippines due to the COVID-19 crisis.

In a letter sent to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the business groups called for the following:

  • a moratorium on demurrage and detention fees, port congestion surcharges, and other penalties imposed on shipments that are stuck in ports;
  • an extension of the free storage period for shipments, from five (5) days to ten (10) days;
  • the adoption of a “super green lane” for shipments and transshipments bound for areas under the authority of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Clark Development Corporation and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority;
  • the lifting of the truck ban and number-coding schemes, to facilitiate freer movement of essential goods;
  • improvements in the automation system of the Bureau of Customs, to further facilitiate movement of goods particularly with the need for social distancing;
  • the implementation of Executive Order 172 of 2014, which assigns Subic and Batangas ports as “extensions” to Manila’s ports in emergency situations;
  • ensuring that all shipping lines have sufficient container yard space for empty containers;
  • the expedited accreditation and activation of inland container depots as needed;
  • the repeal of Letter of Instruction 1005-A, which allows the Philippine Ports Authority to receive at least ten percent of the gross income of cargo handling contractors and port operators; and
  • the conduction of regulatory impact assessment on issuances relating to COVID-19, both at the national and local levels, particularly those that impact the movement of goods.

The letter was sent to the IATF last 17 April and was made public last 24 April.

Alongside SCMAP, the letter was signed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Exporters Confederation (PhilExport), Export Development Council (EDC), American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham), Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ANZCHAM), Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham), European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), Japanese Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (JCCI), Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (KCCP), Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI), Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters (PAMURI), Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI), and Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).