BIZ BUZZ: Customs brokers plead for Marcos help
The cargo sector operating out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) is not putting up with the unnecessary gridlock at the airport anymore and is pleading with President Marcos to muster the political will to finally do something to ease the flow of cargo to and from the country’s primary gateway.
The Philippine Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc. underscored in an open letter to Mr. Marcos that the flow of goods has been constricted—more accurately felt at this time when shipments are peaking ahead of the busy holiday season—because two gates that would have allowed the transport of cargo directly to and from aircraft have been shut down by court injunctions, thus favoring just one player.
With just one gate open, it sometimes takes as long as 12 hours for large firms to sort out parcels from the time the container is taken from the aircraft. This then explains why trucks have to stay longer outside Naia on Sucat Road to pick up or deliver cargo, worsening Christmas traffic.
According to CCBI president Anthony Cristobal, cargo services have to be improved alongside passenger services, especially with the entry of private concessionaire San Miguel-led New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC).
This, he said, could make Naia a regional logistics and transshipment hub, given its strategic location. Such advantage is being wasted, however, “as certain groups oppose change and reforms to safeguard their interests.”
Just opening one gate with ramp access, the group said, would immediately put the Philippines on the regional map as a logistics and transshipment powerhouse, certainly a move that Pres. Marcos and NNIC chief Ramon S. Ang should seek to immediately make.
