The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is giving stakeholders 15 calendar days, or until March 17, to submit position papers on the petition of port operator Manila North Harbour Port, Inc. (MNHPI) to include garbage services and fees in Manila North Harbor’s official tariff.
Stakeholders were invited to submit their papers beginning March 3, the day after the PPA hearing panel conducted a public hearing on the port operator’s petition.
In a position paper dated November 22, 2017, MNHPI, operator of domestic terminal North Port at Manila North Harbor, had listed proposed additional port services and the corresponding fees—including garbage services—that it seeks to be included in its formal tariff.
The port operator first filed the petition way back in 2012, and this was followed, until 2014, by PPA-directed consultative meetings with shipping lines. In 2015, MNHPI again submitted a position paper, asking to be allowed to include in the formal tariff of Manila North Harbor the port services it was rendering. It said these services were outside of the regular cargo handling cycle and required the provision of additional area, equipment, manpower, and electricity, among others, “thereby incurring cost to MNHPI.”
In 2017, MNHPI filed the position paper again, this time containing the updated fees of its proposed port services.
The petition was presented to a PPA technical working group, and underwent a series of consultative meetings with the Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA), members of which are majority of the callers at the port.
On its petition for garbage service fees, MNHPI said garbage services refer to the collection of wastes from the vessel, generated waste as a result of stripping and stuffing, or spillages inside the terminal area, which “are over and above and are not part of the regular garbage generated as a result of normal arraste and stevedoring.”
MNHPI’s proposed garbage collection rates of P500 for the first 0.4 cubic meter and P450 in excess of 0.4 cubic meter are based on the tariff imposed by Golden Dragon International Terminals, Inc. for domestic garbage hauling. Golden Dragon provides services related to the collection and disposal of wastes, oil, and sewerage discharged by vessels calling at different Philippine ports.
MNHPI, meanwhile, is given five calendar days to respond after receiving the position papers of stakeholders.
On the part of the PPA, its hearing panel will convene a technical working group to deliberate on the petition and the position papers, and make a recommendation to the PPA Board for approval.
Meanwhile, a separate public hearing was held earlier, on February 26, tackling MNHPI’s petition to include other port services besides garbage collection in MNHPI’s formal tariff.
Aside from garbage collection, other proposed services whose rates will be determined by PPA include reefer charges, amendment fee/administrative fees, hustling of containers, crane standby, lift-on/lift- off, shutout/re-voyage, non-standard lifts, handling of out-of-gauge containers, container examination, extra labor services, equipment rental/hire, re-stowing of containers, weighing fees, and definition of roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), chassis-RoRo, and Sto-Ro (a vessel with capacity for breakbulk cargo as well as vehicles or trailer-borne cargo) operations.
“The extra service and expense may require hustling of container, lift-off/dismounting of container, lift-on/dismounting of container, all resulting to additional actual expense to MNHPI, to name a few,” the port operator said.
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