SINABI ni Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr., na importanteng magkaroon ng makabago at modernong mga pier ang Pilipinas upang makasabay sa ibang bansa sa pandaigdigang kalakalan sa pantalan.

Sa kanyang pagsasalita sa forum na inorganisa ng Philippine Inter-island Shipping Association, binigyang-diin ni Marcos Jr. na malaking bagay kung pagbubutihin ang pangongolekta ng buwis mula sa ‘cargo at shipping industry’ upang makabangon ang ekonomiya na pinilay ng pandemya.

“If we hope to re-emerge from this economic adjustment after Covid, we have to modernize and upgrade our ports,” ani Marcos.

“There are many opportunities in that regard. Perhaps, we can make the Philippines a logistics center, considering our strategic importance in terms of our geographical position,” wika pa niya.

“Any ships that come out of the West Philippine Sea, will have to pass through Philippine waters. In transportation and logistics terms that is a very, very great advantage,” sabi pa ng nangungunang presidential bet.

Nabatid mula sa datos ng Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), ang cargo volume na naglalabas-pasok sa pantalan ay umaabot sa 200.051 million metric tons mula noong Enero hanggang Setyembre 2021.

Sa kabuuan, 64 porsiyento rito ang mula sa ‘foreign cargoes,’ samantalang ang nalalabing 36 percent ay mula naman sa mga ‘domestic cargoes.’

Ani Marcos, napakahalaga ng ‘shipping industry’ sa pandaigdigang kalakarang pang-ekonomya dahil may malaking demands ngayon dahil nagkaroon ng malaking problema sa kani-kanilang pantalan ang mga bansang Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia at Indonesia nito lamang nakalipas na taon.

“We can take advantage of the fact that the ASEAN ports have run into problems because we did not expect demand in shipping volumes to increase so much in such a short time. Kaya hindi na ma-handle. They cannot offload the ships quickly enough,” anang dating senador.

“There are many ports that, with just a little bit more policy changes, we can develop immediately and become very much part of that global market. With airlines only to resume full-capacity operation by 2023, passengers will also be undertaken by ferries,” sabi pa nito.

Bunsod nito, idinagdag ng presidential aspirant na mas magiging produktibo para sa pamahalaan kung magkakaroon ng modernisasyon at i-upgrade ang mga pier sa bansa, kesa magkaroon pa ng problema sa Saligang Batas sakaling pagtibayin ang isinusulong na Senate Bill No. 2094 o Public Service Act of 2021.

Ang panukala na pumasa na sa ikatlong pagbasa noong Disyembre 14 ay naglalayong amyendahan ang Public Service Act sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaroon ng malinaw na pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng ‘public services’ at ‘public utilities’ kung saan ang ‘free public services’ ay hindi maaaring ikonsidera bilang natural na monopolya mula sa ‘foreign equity restrictions.’

Ang bersiyon ng Senado ay naglilimita sa “public utility” para sa serbisyo ng distribusyon at transmisyon ng elektrisidad, ang ‘water pipeline distribution’ at ‘sewerage pipeline systems’ sa mga paliparan, seaports, at iba pang public utility vehicles.

Ang tollways at expressways ay ikinokonsidera ring isama bilang bahagi ng public utility.

Dahil dito, sa ilalim ng Senate bill, puwede nang ikonsidera na hindi na bahagi ng public utilities ang kalakaran ng telecommunications, airlines, at ang ‘domestic shipping industry’ — na hindi na rin mangangailangan ng ‘citizenship requirement.’

“The bill is an attempt to rationalize the different functions, especially for trade, but there is a constitutional conflict on the provision on foreign ownership of local businesses,” paliwanag pa ni Marcos, Jr.

“The Senate bill, as it stands, will come under judicial test and will be challenged. We have to be very, very careful. That would be the most contentious issue the SBN 2094 will have to face. I think we are going to have to face some legal challenges to that Senate bill,” saad pa niya.

“Instead of getting around this possible constitutional problem, the government should undertake an upgrading program, a modernization program to include all the best technologies that they are using now in Europe, that they are using now in Singapore, that they are using now in large ports around the world,” sabi din niya.

“It is counter-intuitive that an archipelagic country with more than 7,000 islands, does not have a developed port system,” pagbibigay diin niya.