THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) hearing for the application of Federal Express Pacific, Inc to operate as an international air freight forwarder has been rescheduled to June 9 from the original May 23. This is on account of the absence of the CAB hearing officer, who is in Vietnam for Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings.
There are also questions on the date of the original hearing, a Saturday. CAB is closed weekends.
It may be recalled that the Air Cargo Forwarders of the Philippines, Inc (AFPI) is strongly opposing the application of Federal Express Pacific, claiming it violates provisions of the Philippine Constitution on foreign ownership.
Federal Express Pacific, according to AFPI, is an “outright foreign corporation, registered in the United States of America, more particularly in the State of Delaware, and all its shareholders, directors and officers are foreigners with residences overseas.”
Under the Constitution, public utilities must be 60% Filipino-owned.
Using the same grounds, an international freight forwarder, Ace Logistics, Inc, also filed an opposition to Federal Express Pacific’s CAB application.
Apart from violating the Constitution, Ace Logistics claims the applicant is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and did not submit complete documentary requirements.
It added that the entry of another player in the freight forwarding industry could lead to ruinous competition. The company said that among 150 airfreight forwarders in AFPI’s online listing, the top 30 already service 83.05% of the market. About 100 other forwarders compete for the requirements of the rest of the market.
