THE Senate is poised to mount an inquiry into a Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) directive that some quarters fear would render jobless “thousands of port workers and cargo handlers.”
In filing Resolution 775, Senator Risa Hontiveros paved the way for Senate probers to review implementation of a recent PPA administrative order that could “eliminate the livelihood of thousands of port workers and cargo handlers in the country.”
The administrative order embodied in PPA-AO No. 12-2018, threatens the livelihood of small stakeholders in the shipping industry, the senator said.
“We the need to protect the livelihood of thousands of port workers, cargo handlers and other shipping industry employees,” she added.
The beleaguered port workers, she pointed out, also play a vital role in the economy, more so now that the country is reeling from the Covid=19 pandemic.
The senator pointed out that PPA-AO No. 12-2018 intends to implement a so-called “Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework” that, in part, mandates that contracts for operation and management of ports under PPA jurisdiction must be awarded to parties offering the highest concession fees in a public bidding.
In a statement, she asserted that implementation of the Administrative Order should be examined to “ensure that economic disruption to the dockworkers is minimized and that the public bidding was fair and above board.”
The senator asked, “Was there a consultation with stakeholders prior to the AO implementation?” and added: “Because this new framework may unduly favor large corporations who have the capital to offer drastically higher concession fees than cooperatives and local small businesses.”
She also noted that the framework effectively threatens to “displace thousands of workers from these existing concessionaires who are no match to big businesses.”
She recalled the experience of hundreds of cargo handlers and other port workers from the Calapan Labor Service Development Cooperative (Calsedeco) in Oriental Mindoro, who are “now in danger of losing their jobs after the PPA entered into a new contract with a private firm for services formerly provided by Calsedeco.”
She added that earlier this week, Calsedeco workers figured in a standoff with port police and the employees of the new service provider trying to assume operations in the port.
Hontiveros warned that if the Duterte administration fails to streamline and fix existing rules on awarding concession agreements soon, similar disputes might start to emerge in other port areas around the country.
This scenario, she added, will likely trigger tension and paralyze more ports. “If we have tensions in our ports, shipping operations and cargo delivery will surely be paralyzed, and our economy affected,” she said.
The senator prodded authorities concerned to act quickly before the situation worsens, noting that “we are now in the midst of a pandemic.”