On March 3, 2023, Port Calls in partnership with Intercommerce, Universal Rubina Corporation and supported by PMTLAI, Phil Export, SCMAP, and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce hosted a Mindanao Shipping Conference in Seda Hotel Abreeza, Davao City.

      The conference began by the keynote speech of Secretary Mabel Acosta of the MinDA (Mindanao Development Authority). She reiterated the Vision of the Authority for all ports in Mindanao to be a key player in BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam – Indonesia – Malaysia – Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) trade. She hopes we become an institutional player in Multi-Modal Transport in the Region within 20-30 years. This will allow Mindanao to connect the Philippines Internationally as well as develop domestic trade.

      Other Speakers such as Dr. Adoracion Navarro discussed prospects for trade in Mindanao after the Pandemic heavily hit Domestic trade in the region. The speaker also called for the government to protect sectors where the Philippines has a competitive advantage against our regional neighbors such as garments but also noted that most investments in the region were in the form of developed roads.

      Hiyasmin Delos Santos outlined the priorities of the Philippine Port Authority: 1. Digitization, 2. Green Port, 3. Ease of Doing Business, 4.) Public – Private Partnership and 5.) Resilient Port Infrastructure.

      Speaker Bonifacio Licayan who is the Vice President of Davao International Container Inc. Described how the process of container handling has remained the same even during and after the Pandemic. 90% of the cargo handled is via Seafrieght and that in Asia, a bigger percentage of cargo movement is through containers. He mentioned that in the future, Port Infrastructure should improve allowing for bigger berth length as well as an improvement on the crane efficiency and capacity in Mindanao.

      Speaker Mr. Samuel Bautista discussed how to unbox Philippine logistics by explaining some of the current statistics in the Philippines as well as improvements in the standards of Philippine Logistics industry. He discussed improvements in digitization, skills frameworks and the need to address e-commerce as an emerging industry that cannot be stopped.

      PMTLAI Director Doris Torres discussed the streamlining of Philippine freight forwarder processes through the initiative of CAB and DTI in order to harmonize and minimize the registration and renewal requirements of Freight Forwarding companies.

      Mr. John Carlo Tria from the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for the improvement of Trade facilitation which will allow products to move quickly and efficiently from Suppliers to destinations at the lowest cost possible and in the fastest time. He reiterated Secretary Acosta’s vision to become a key port in the BIMP-EAGA Initiative so that more international trade will pass through Davao and there will be less dependence on Cebu and Manila. As with the other speakers, he also mentioned the need to improve facilities as it reduces our competitiveness in the region and lastly he wants to focus on the strength of the Davao Agri Trade which has been a strong point of Davao for a long time.

      Last but not least was the report of the Bureau of Customs by Atty. Dino Austria from the BOC District XII. He presented a comprehensive report on the current statistics of imported and exported goods. He also explained the role of the Bureau of Customs. He explained that he also supports the vision for Davao to be a Trade Hub in the Region and that historically, Davao was the center of Trade in South East Asia. In order to achieve this goal, he has already begun setting up a technical working group including the port operators, shipping lines, PEZA, Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders. On March 15, a customs summit will be held where he will further discuss these plans as well as the new features of the Bureau in its transition to digitization.

Details & Establishing

Registration

Speakers

Awarding

Group Photos