New issuances and proposed policies from their respective agencies were duly deliberated by the members of the Port & Maritime Management Advisory Council (PMMAC) together with active partner agencies during the 3rd Quarter Meeting on 15 August 2019 at the PPA PMO MOC Gad Hall.

The new mandates and proposals aimed at boosting port and maritime services to the public, which were presented by concerned member agencies were initially evaluated by the Council for clarifications and further review.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) presented their draft guidelines for the implementation of R.A. No. 11261 or the “First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act” thru which the Authority aims to expand the “accessibility to government services government services and provide incentives to improve first time jobseeker’s access to employment.” MARINA poses that no fees/ charges will be collected from the first-time jobseekers when obtaining Certificate of Proficiency in Basic Training (COP-BT) and Certificates of Proficiency for Seafarers with Designated Security Duties (COP-SDSD). The rest of the members raised some clarifications and moved for the review of the draft guidelines.

The Port Management Office of Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro (PMO MO/C) apprised the body about the revised guidelines for the accreditation of all port service providers per PPA A.O 06-2019 and the enforcement of 100% mandatory weighing of all domestic outbound laden containers and RO-RO vehicles. In addition to the latter, “All RO-RO cargo including vehicles which exceed the allowable maximum gross weight upon weighing in the port will not be allowed to board unless weight is reduced to allowable limit,” pursuant to PPA A.O 05-2019. Both issuances elicited points for clarifications from the PMMAC members. The Chairperson recommended that inquiries may be put into writing in order to officially transmit the same to the PPA Head Office for response.

Furthermore, PMO MO/C informed the body about the proposed design for the implementation of One Ticketing System, an online application for the integrated vessel booking and payment system for RO-RO ports. Some concerns were raised and were tabled for the meantime until the full review of the proposal.

The PMO MO/C Engineering Services Division gave updates on the port infrastructure developments and future project proposals.  Operationalization of the newly inaugurated projects, the Port of Opol and the 6-lane Electronic Gate was also tackled. —IMR Lam