PPA suspends cargo permit requirement
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
All cargo owners can now withdraw or deposit their cargoes normally from the ports of Manila and Luzon as if there is no Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has issued Memorandum Circular No. 10-2020 suspending its earlier issued memorandum requiring cargo owners and logistics service providers to secure a Cargo Entry/Withdrawal Permit (CEWP) from PPA or Port Terminal Operators.
“The new guidelines will only require the presentation of any of the existing transport documents such as Bill of Lading, Waybills or any related documents to the concerned inspecting/validating officers and which shall serve as their entry/exit documents,” PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago confirmed.
“This will guarantee the unhampered movement of cargo in and out of the ports of Manila, thus, ensuring uninterrupted domestic supply chain despite the 30-day ECQ,” he added.
“Nonetheless, PPA will make regular review of the memorandum in order to calibrate certain provision of the memorandum if the need arises,” Santiago added.
Under the memo, PPA-controlled ports shall remain open in the entire duration of the ECQ being imposed in the entire Luzon region, provided that there will be strict ‘no embarkation/disembarkation of crew’ and subject to the requirements of the Bureau of Quarantine and the Department of Health.
No passenger ships shall be allowed entry in ports, the memo also showed.
Trucks carrying cargoes not needing to traverse any body of water are allowed continuous access to ports as well as those carrying empty containers to and from the ports and to and from the Inland Container Yards.
For trucks carrying cargoes requiring transit via any body of water or interisland travel, these shall be required to unload the cargoes in the next port of call and transfer the same to another truck or vehicle, or as an alternative, engage a different driver and a maximum of two helpers provided by the trucking company, the shipper or the consignee until the trucks and cargoes reach its final destination. However, the manpower requirement of these trucks are subject to strict health screening before they will be allowed to enter or exit the port.
Meanwhile, other documents which will serve as entry/exit documents for inspection and verification by the authorities include Delivery Orders/Receipts, Container Interchange Report, including electronic systems like TABS, G2G, B2B, B2G and mobile messaging/receipts.
On the other hand, PPA is also maintaining a skeletal workforce in all its Luzon offices to complement the IATF directive to facilitate the release and entry of cargoes in any of the Manila ports.
PPA is similarly working with the IATF to have their skeletal force, including PPA official vehicles, accredited for their smooth transit to and from work.
The agency is likewise imposing a round-the-clock disinfection procedure in all its offices to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
On Tuesday this week, the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 (IATF), also announced that all kinds of cargoes emanating from inside and outside of Metro Manila including those coming from provinces with localized community quarantine can move unimpeded.