It’s time for Philippine shipping lines to cut their rates since fuel prices are now at the lowest they have been in a dozen years, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said.
Marina administrator Dr. Maximo Mejia, Jr., in Marina Advisory No. 2016-04, enjoined all domestic shipping companies operating passenger or cargo ships in the liner service to “reasonably adjust their passenger and cargo rates.”
He said the request is “in view of the recent roll back in the price of petroleum products in the local and global markets which is the lowest for the past 12 years, and in order to protect and safeguard the interests of the riding public by ensuring that the rates being charged remain just and equitable.”
Marina first asked local liners to adjust their rates in December 2014, and the new rates took effect early 2015. In September last year, Marina again asked for another rate adjustment. The directive was in compliance with a Department of Transportation and Communications order issued in 2014 to its attached agencies—Marina, Civil Aeronautics Board, and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board—to strictly monitor in their respective jurisdictions the rates being charged by public service providers.
Passenger and cargo rates in the domestic liner shipping industry have been deregulated since 2004 through Republic Act No. 9295, or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004, but Marina says it has the reserved/plenary power to intervene in the setting of rates by carriers so as to protect the rights of the riding public. – Roumina Pablo
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