Page 17 - LM Confidential Issue August 2014

Port congestion making Phl exports highly uncompetitive
How Toni Gonzaga rose to the Top
Many think her wit, humor, talents and gift of gab catapulted Toni Gonzaga to stardom. Few realize that the girl who nearly didn’t get the guy in the movies, the girl who often played characters that
find themselves flat-footed in situations only to get through these with chin up, the girl who says outrageously candid one-liners in interviews that end up as Twitter trending topic a few minutes after these are uttered—is a girl who delivers the goods every single time because she understands the Filipino audience so well.
The so-called Multi-Media Star talked about the Pinoy psyche and how the nation determines whom to champion.
Surprise, surprise: It’s almost always the underdog.
“Ang Pilipino, may maawain na puso. It’s our culture. If you go back to history, sinakop tayo ng madaming lahi kaya many of us have meek personality, mahiyain. Simple lang tayo pero we’re sympathetic at ang laging hinahanap natin ay puso,” she said to that effect.
We opened the subject in light of some people’s observation that in local reality and talent shows, contestants who have a sob story seem to automatically have advantage over those who don’t.
“Gusto kasi ng Pilipino na laging nakaka-relate (sa kapwa niya). Gusto ng Pinoy malaman kung san ka nagsimula, san ka ba galing, bakit ka ba nag-a-artista. It’s not just about what you can do but also why you do it.”
It’s not that talent doesn’t factor in. In a nation acknowledged worldwide to have talented people teeming in every nook and cranny, that’s a given. However, he who speaks directly to and captures the heart of the people, stands out and could have key in the hole.
“I’ll get to share a part of me sa audience that they don’t often see. When you sing live, you interact with your audience—andyan sila sa harap mo—so when the songs touch someone’s heart kita mo agad.
It’s Toni just being herself. And it’s why people just love her.
MANILA, Philippines - The congestion and shipment delays at the Manila ports are making Philippine exports highly uncompetitive, as most ports do not have to contend with a similar cause — a truck ban policy, according to two prominent leaders of the business community.
Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), said congestion at the Manila terminals has reached “110 percent of capacity” and warned that the situation could go from bad to worse unless “some real remedies” are applied.
There’s a real problem now as shipments can’t be loaded or unloaded, according to Ortiz-Luiz.
Robert Amores, president of the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization (PhilFoodex) and Philexport trustee for the food sector, explained that shipments should normally be cleared out within 72 hours. “But with the congestion, clearance sometimes takes 15 to 30 days.”
The ports of Hong Kong or Busan in South Korea also experience traffic jams, but they can address their problem because there is “no truck ban to compound” the overcrowding issue, so “they can cope,” Amores said.
Amores said food exporters are losing business because what buyers are doing now is to accept what local exporters can ship out, then fill the rest of their orders by importing from other sources, such as Thailand.
The food industry is “suffering,” he stressed. Manufacturers of fresh produce, for example, can’t fully commit to ship out 100 percent of the orders due to spoilage from the long wait.
Moreover, many are forced to use the costlier air transport system to meet deadlines, further increasing their expenses.
And, unfortunately, they can’t raise their export prices because other countries are not experiencing
the situation they are in.
As a result, Amores said many food makers have
reduced their output, leading to lower production levels, adoption of the rotation system, and other similar measures, affecting the “total supply chain.”
Ortiz-Luis shared that he recently learned from the leaders of the semiconductor industry that a few firms plan to go on a temporary production shutdown because of the long wait for raw materials.
He criticized the seeming lack of coordination among government agencies that aggravates the situation, such as the construction of the skyway and the ill-timed implementation of the anti-colorum drive in the middle of the truck ban debacle.
Although there are Cabinet cluster meetings involving the different departments, the agencies seem to be “doing their own thing,” said Ortiz-Luis. He lamented how the opening of the Roxas Boulevard trucking lane took months to do. Then just when it was finally done and traffic was easing up, the anti- colorum campaign came up. “Walang katapusan,” he said.
Amores said that only the truckers have benefitted from the truck ban policy and the anti-colorum drive. This is because they have managed to raise their rates significantly, citing the long turnaround due to the truck ban.
Meanwhile the anti-colorum campaign effectively reduced the number of trucks on the road because as much as 40 percent of truckers have no franchise, causing a shortage of haulers.
Ortiz-Luis called on the administration to heed the call of the business community, and urged the agencies to “orchestrate” their moves in addressing the Manila truck ban and port gridlock. This, he emphasized, is “a national problem, not just a departmental problem, and must be treated as such.”
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AUGUST 2014
L. M. Confidential 17