Local shipping industry needs competition, say
A BUSINESS leader has pushed for the opening of the domestic shipping industry to foreign companies to ensure competitive rates.
At the Wednesdays @ Habi at Kape - Abreeza, Antonio Peralta, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) – Southern Mindanao Business Council chair, said that opening up the shipping industry to foreign companies and clustering the companies will ultimately reduce prohibitive shipping rates.
Peralta pointed out that the conclusion was based on the result of the logistics conference that the business group initiated last month.
Among the factors that affect higher shipping routes for Mindanao, he said, is its location.
“If you look at it, the vessel has to make a turn around Zamboanga to come here or maybe we have to reconfigure everything. Use Cagayan as the main
shipping point. But that can only be done if there is efficient land transportation system in place,” Peralta said.
He said that aside from high shipping cost, other problems that affect the industry is the lack of incentives from the government to shipping companies resulting in the aging vessels and unsafe handling of cargoes.
Based on the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) data, the logistics cost in Mindanao is 30.32% of the production cost, compared with Luzon at 17.48% and the Visayas at 25.08%.
He conceded that is it hard for the government to provide incentives, making it very difficult for shipping companies to improve the quality of their vessels. In order to make it happen, there must be a competition by inviting foreign companies to encourage local shipping companies to improve their services and lower the shipping cost.
Other issues raised during the problems included the seeming lack of coordination among industry stakeholders as well as the failure for shipping companies to get cargoes back to Mindanao.
To resolve the problems, Peralta said local producers must have to “rationalize these production numbers and make sure that the shipping companies are aware of this so that there is a better coordination, and it can only be done through a convergence mechanism in the private sector and the government which the Department of Agriculture and DTI, and the shipping companies.”
The chamber would be having another logistics conference this year, although it has yet to finalize the date due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
“For one, the next conference would seriously look into these (problems), why are we in a situation like this, we need to hear the side of the shippers why it continues to be like that, how can we work together to make it lower the cost, and perhaps for them to also consider that when the time comes, we have to open the shipping industry to allow foreign competition to come in to really improve the shipping rates,” he said.
AIMING to share the story and lessons of the country’s first microinsurance company, CARD MRI Founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip and Pioneer Life President and CEO Mr. Lorenzo Chan, Jr. co-wrote a book chronicling the CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. (CPMI) journey.
The book entitled Sachet Insurance for the Micromarket: A Glimpse into the Story of CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. was pre-launched during the National Microinsurance Forum 2020 on January 30 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
The event was graced
by Commissioner Atty. Dennis B. Funa of the Insurance Commission, and Asec. Ma. Teresa Habitan of the Department of Finance. Also present were SEDP CEO Fr. Jovic Lobrigo, BSP Managing Director of the Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy Ms. Pia Bernadette Roman Tayag, MiMAP President Ms. Silvida Antiquera, and MCPI Chairperson Eduardo Jimenez.
Said CPMI co-founder Mr. Chan, the book was launched to share their lessons on microinsurance, whose framework was often cited as a model used by other countries.
“It is with hopes that we can contribute further to the growing knowledge on insurance – a once elite product now made accessible for all,” shared Mr. Chan.
The CPMI Journey In 2013, CARD MRI and Pioneer Life forged partnership to provide nonlife insurance products to socioeconomically challenged families. Among the products that CPMI offers are the Sagip Plan, Kabuklod Plan, and crop insurance.
In an interview, Dr. Alip and Mr. Chan shared how their similar passion
to provide safety net to the poor led them to a joint venture.
“In the mid-2000s, CARD’s management looked into the possibility of providing non-life insurance products to its clients,” narrated Dr. Alip. ”Our pursuit to this goal led us to a man who, like CARD, has a heart for the poor.”
Then came 2007 when Dr. Alip and Mr. Chan met. “I was on the hunt for a partner microfinance institution who would help us actualize our dream of a ‘sachet insurance’,” shared Mr. Chan.
“Sachet insurance” refers to affordable and accessible insurance products catering to the needs of the lower classes.
This meeting led to a partnership between the country’s largest microfinance institution and one of the country’s most innovative commercial insurers.
In April 2019, CPMI has been recognized by the Insurance Commission as one of the top microinsurance providers in the sector, with 66.89% market shares.
The Sachet Insurance for the Micromarket will be officially launched in April 2020.