Key officials of the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association (PISFA) visited Subic Freeport Zone last week to check out developments at the container terminals as well as make a courtesy call on Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) officials.
The visit was prompted by the association’s desire to look for shipping alternatives to Manila, now suffering from road congestion as a result of the recently implemented Manila truck ban. The congestion has resulted in cargo delays that have jacked up logistics costs.
PISFA president Mariz Regis, vice president Erich Lingad and director Doris Torres were welcomed by Subic Bay International Terminal Corp (SBITC) general manager Reimond Silvestre and administration and finance manager Tony Ramos at the SBITC-operated New Container Terminals (NCT) 1 and 2.
Silvestre briefed PISFA officers of the cost and time advantages of shipping through Subic for Northern Luzon consignees. The officers were later given a tour of NCT 1 and NCT 2.
SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia and senior deputy administrator for Regulatory Group Atty Jocelyn Alvarado later welcomed the group at the SBMA office.
The PISFA officers requested Garcia to look at easing accreditation requirements for Subic port users. The officers said documentation requirements for those delivering or picking up cargoes at the Freeport zone should be less than those for locators.
Alvarado, who is in charge of accreditation, said her office is in the process of reviewing the requirements, which will be submitted to Garcia next week. Garcia promised to make the process easier for port users.
(Silvestre and Garcia will speak in greater detail about Subic’s advantages at the April 22, 2014 Transport Summit being organized by PISFA and PortCalls at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. The summit’s theme is “Removing Barriers to Cargo Transportation and Customs”. Email info@portcalls.com for details.)
