A collaborative review of existing reporting process of coastwise cargo manifests in Negros Oriental /
Maria Felida O. Generoso.
- 146 leaves : illustrations
Public Management Development Program
The domestic shipping has a vital role in the country's trade and regional development. It is an integral part of the national trade and therefore should be looked into for the growth of trade. The increase in cargo flow and a positive trade balance are primarily direct manifestations of increased production and economic activities in the various islands as shown by trade statistics. Improvements in domestic shipping as well as trade statistics would, therefore, be expected to exert an impact on the country's trade and regional development. One of the major sources of trade statistics are shipping or cargo manifests, thus, a more efficient way of reporting of these documents will improve the the data used in the planning and implementation of port development. The development in the domestic shipping industry would also manifest the impacts of government's policy initiatives and programs with regard to the development of a very important sector of the country's economy (Lorenzo, 1998). Coastwise trade statistics are generated and published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) from the complied data on the flow of goods in seaports through the coasting manifests (Bureau of Customs Form 78) collected from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). Data released from the cargo manifests are total quantity of commodities being transported, the value of these commodities, top traded commodities across regions, domestic trade value per region, inflow and outflow value and trade balance. The data will also show from which region particular raw materials are produced or which area certain products are manufactured. However, data processors observed different cargo manifest forms being used by shipping companies, incomplete entries, blurred entries and insufficient description of commodities. The reliability, completeness and accuracy of these data depend largely on the compiled cargo manifests. Hence, this collaborative review of the reporting system of shipping/cargo manifests with the agencies involved in the reporting system or who, in one way or the other, are users if the documents in order to improve domestic trade statistics. The review or evaluation was done in collaboration with the Philippines Ports Authority Negros Oriental provincial office, Bureau of Customs Sub-station Dumaguete, Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Coast Guard Station Dumaguete (CG), all stationed in Negros Oriental. However, with the change of provincial officer of the NAMRIA Dumaguete Station, the office was not anymore represented in the succeeding meetings. Despite some unavoidable circumstances that caused some delay in the activities, the project was able to deliver expected outputs. A memorandum of understanding was signed to indicate commitment and cooperation in the partnership which produced a report of the evaluation, a list of best practices, gaps and recommendations for improvement. The evaluation phase had compiled recommendations that will be submitted to the agencies to further implement improvements on the reporting process as well as in the generation of trade statistics. The recommendations included enhancing collaboration, advocacies and dialogues, sustaining data appreciation, standardizing the coastwise cargo manifest, designing of a computerized system and policy formulation among others. A sustainability plan was also designed which outlines the strategies to be undertaken to continue the project.