? PHILIPPINEPHILIPPINE COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT 2020 2020 by by ProQuest ProQuest Publishing, Publishing, Inc Inc www.portcalls.comwww.portcalls.com Looking for the Turn to pages 6-9 BEST CONSOLIDATORS Looking for the Turn to pages 6-9 BEST CONSOLIDATORS TheThe Philippines’Philippines’ onlyonly shipping andand transporttransport guideguide ISSNISSN 0118-1483 0118-1483 MONDAYMONDAY JuneJune 15,15, 20202020 VOL. VOL. 25 25 NO. NO.48 48 P30.00P30.00 ForexForex raterate as of Thursday, 1111 JuneJune 2020 2020 — — P50.195:US$1 P50.195:US$1 BOC to implement online system for payment of customs fees, miscellaneous charges THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) will soon the meantime cater to payment of Ac- implement an online payment system for count Management Office registration the collection, transmittal, and remit- and renewal fees. tance of Customs fees and other payments. PPS services include Online Checkout BOC signed a memorandum of agree- that accepts credit/debit cards for local and ment with the Bureau of the Treasury cross-border payments, Bills Payment via (BTr), Development Bank of the Philip- PayMaya app, Pay by PayMaya, PayMaya pines (DBP), and online payment service One POS (point-of-sale) terminal that provider PayMaya Philippines, Inc to accepts credit/debit cards and PayMaya operationalize the system. QR payments, and Smart Padala Centers Under the agreement, PayMaya will Bills Payment. accept from BOC clients payments of The MOA also covers payment of cli- miscellaneous fees and charges, other ent service fees specified under the MOA, than customs duties and taxes, through as well as the arrangement of depositing PayMaya’s Payment Solutions (PPS), collected BOC fees and other payments the customs bureau said in a statement. to the DBP. According to the Revenue Collection Under the agreement, the BOC will and Monitoring Group, the PPS will for Turn to page 4 2 • PortCalls INDUSTRYNEWS MONDAY June 15, 2020 PH trade plunges 59.8% in April THE Philippines’ total merchandise trade ucts remained the country’s top import, in April 2020 declined 59.8% to US$6.07 accounting for 39.6% of the total or $1.3 billion from $15.10 billion year-on-year, billion. It also remained as the top export with both imports and exports recording commodity with 57.3% or $1.60 billion their biggest decrease since 2009, accord- of the total. ing to the Philippine Statistics Authority By major type of goods, exports of (PSA). manufactured goods accounted for the Restrictions in production supply highest share of $2.05 billion or 73.7% chains and global trade flow due to the of the total. For imports, raw materials coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pan- and intermediate goods accounted for the demic has affected the country’s trade, largest share of $1.47 billion or 44.7% of the National Economic and Development the total. Authority earlier said. April 2020 saw the first full month Markets of enhanced community quarantines By trading partner, Hong Kong ac- in various parts of the country, limiting counted for the highest value of exports, movement of people and closing most followed by China, Japan, the United business activities. States (US), and Singapore. The country’s balance of trade in goods China remained the Philippines’ big- in April 2020 plunged to $0.50 billion or gest supplier of imported goods, while the an annual drop of 86.9%. On the other other major import trading partners were hand, trade deficit grew at an annual rate Japan, South Korea, US, and Taiwan. of 2.7% in April 2019. Acting Socioeconomic Planning Imports, which accounted for 51.4% of secretary Karl Kendrick Chua earlier the total merchandise trade, dove 65.3% said merchandise trade may recover in in April 2020 to $3.28 billion from $9.45 2021, but this will depend on how fast billion in the same month last year. This was the highest annual decline recorded since April 2009. The decrement of imported goods in April 2020 was due to decreases in the top 10 major import commodities led by transport equipment (-89.8%); mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (-87.4%); and miscellaneous manufac- tured articles (-75.5%). Exports likewise dropped 50.8% to $2.78 billion from $5.65 billion in April 2019, its highest recorded contraction since January 2009. Largely contributing to the downtrend in April 2020 were seven of the top 10 major export commodities led by other manufactured goods (-64.0%); machinery and transport equipment (-63.6%); and coconut oil (-55.5%). the country can contain the spread of impact through government policies to By commodity group, electronic prod- COVID-19 and mitigate its economic support affected industries and workers. 12 new PEZA ecozones seen attracting P6.4B investments A total of 12 new economic zones have • Ayala Bacolod Capitol Corporate 408 economic zones nationwide. It has a will suffer from CREATE since their been approved, estimated to bring in a Center – IT Center total of 4,542 locator companies directly privilege to pay the gross income tax of total of P6.4 billion investments into • Silver City 4 – IT Center and indirectly employing 6.5 million 5% will expire after 4 to 9 years. In addi- the country, according to the Philippine Seven other new ecozones were pro- Filipino workers as of May 2020. tion, CREATE proposes a flexible special Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). claimed under Proclamation Nos. 940, “Despite lacking efficiency factors, incentive scheme that replaces rules by The new ecozones comprise nine in- 946-950, and 953, signed by Duterte we’re able to continue to attract investors discretion. PEZA enterprises and foreign formation technology (IT) centers, two on May 5, May 22, and June 2, 2020, in the country because of our incentives investors do not welcome this change manufacturing ecozones, and one IT park. respectively: which are tried, tested, and proven to be from rules to discretion which is fraught “Once export companies invest in • Davao del Sur Industrial Eco- globally competitive,” Plaza said. with risk and uncertainty. And we simply these newly proclaimed ecozones, these nomic Zone – Manufacturing Apart from the country’s rich natural cannot afford to add more uncertainty will surely multiply investment and • BatStateU Knowledge, Innova- and human resources, Plaza said PEZA’s during this fragile recovery period from economic activities and opportunities in tion and Science Technology best practices, one-stop-shop, ease of the COVID-19 pandemic.” the Philippines,” PEZA director general Park – IT Park doing business and tax incentives attract Plaza instead pushed measures to lower Charito Plaza said in a statement. • GLAS Office Development – IT foreign investors in the Philippines. the cost of doing business, in the process Plaza said majority or 67% of the new Center “This is the reason why we are appeal- making the country more attractive to ecozones will be located in Luzon, and the • Bench City Center – IT Center ing for the status quo of PEZA’s incen- foreign investors. These measures include rest in the Visayas and Mindanao. • Ortigas Technopoint Tower 1 & tives and powers. Moreover, PEZA urges improving fiscal and non-fiscal incentives Signed in January 2020 by Presi- 2 – IT Center the Congress to legislate an enhanced and budget support for public works and IT dent Rodrigo Duterte, the new special • NEX Tower – IT Center economic stimulus that will support our infrastructure, and new logistics and trans- economic zones were proclaimed under • Robinsons Luisita 2 – IT Center export-oriented companies to bring in portation hubs; lowering of power rates; Proclamation Nos. 885, 889, and 895-897. From October 2016 to June 2020, huge capital investments, millions of jobs, and provision of skills training programs They include the following: PEZA said there are now a total of 73 transfer of new technology, and trigger to match manpower needs of investors. • Abiathar Commercial Complex proclaimed new ecozones comprising the growth and development – IT Center one agro-industrial economic zone, 52 IT of domestic enterprises,” ex- • TDG Innovation and Global centers, nine IT Parks, 10 manufacturing plained Plaza. Business Solutions Center – IT economic zones, and one medical tourism PEZA opposes the current Center center. These 73 ecozones have brought form of the proposed Corpo- • Millennium Industrial Economic about P88.3 billion of investments. rate Recovery and Tax Incen- Zone – Manufacturing PEZA has so far registered a total of tives for Enterprises Act or CREATE, a tax policy-reform bill that seeks an acceleration of the reduction in corporate income tax rate from 30% to 25% by July 31, 2020. PEZA earlier issued a press release siding with 24 econo- mists who expressed their op- position to the CREATE Bill in its current form on grounds that “enterprises in export zones under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority MONDAY June 15, 2020 INDUSTRYNEWS PortCalls • 3 Pre-COVID or under new normal, challenges the same for logistics industry THE new normal will bring the same and inadequacy of transport facilities challenges to the logistics industry, ac- particularly in conflict-affected and un- cording to the Supply Chain Management derdeveloped areas. Association of the Philippines (SCMAP). At the onset of the fight against “All the logistics challenges we are COVID-19, the IATF policy of ensur- experiencing pre-COVID are still here… ing unhampered movement of cargo did even if it’s the new normal already…” “not necessarily translate 100% on the SCMAP president Christine Pardiñas said ground”, he said. (There were numer- during a recent presentation at the first ous reports of checkpoint personnel not SCAn Network Hubs E-Forum. letting through cargo trucks despite the These challenges include manpower government policy.) shortage, supply issues (late or non- “I think that’s the reason why better delivery by suppliers), and warehouses collaboration with the private sector has operating at almost full capacity due to to happen so that government can imme- businesses not being able to fully operate, diately act on disruptions on the ground all of which have resulted in high logistics and it is reported to us immediately so costs, said Pardiñas.