RP eases shipping regulations

RP eases shipping regulations

MANILA (AFP): President Fidel Ramos yesterday announced measures to further deregulate the Philippines' maritime industries, including ending exclusive port-handling contracts and loosening controls on passenger fares.

Ramos said existing exclusive port service contracts would no longer be renewed and that non-exclusive contracts would be awarded through bidding instead.

He said a full deregulation of first- and second-class passenger rates had been ordered, although ships would still have to devote at least 50 percent of their capacity to third-class passengers, whose fares would still be regulated.

Ramos said special "tourism-oriented vessels," would be exempted from the third-class quota in order to maintain higher revenues.

This will allow them to charge even higher than other ships (since third-class fares are still regulated) and will spare tourists from having to rub shoulders with Filipino plebeians.

Critics of the previous system say that the exclusive port contracts have led to inefficient, high-priced monopolies in small ports while the controls on passenger fares have caused a drop in standards with ships being jampacked beyond their capacities.