North Harbor row far from settled

MANILA, Philippines—The row with labor groups and shipping lines had not been settled after all. But Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) officials pushed through nonetheless with the formal turnover of the North Harbor to a private consortium Monday morning.

The new port management, Manila North Harbour Port Inc. (MNHPI), had actually moved into the sprawling port area on Sunday night, after riot police stopped a melee that broke out at Piers 8 and 10 between harbor guards and waterfront workers who were trying to prevent the takeover until after their back wages and benefits had been settled.

At least five persons were injured when the protest turned violent, police said.

The commander of the police station in Moriones, Tondo, Supt. Ernesto Tendero Jr., said the dock workers had formed human barricades in front of Piers 8 and 10 at about 3: 30 p.m. and were throwing bottles and arming themselves with blocks of wood to prevent officials of the PPA and the new management from taking over the premises.

Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay told the Inquirer all the detained workers were released “after they cooled down.”

But he added that the resistance of the workers had to be quelled to effect the transition of management from the PPA to MNHPI, a new joint venture between Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc., owned by Reghis Romero II, and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., led by Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Shippers mad, too

Port officials told the Inquirer Monday the labor disturbance was “minor” considering how big the port complex was.

Also clouding the turnover, however, was a petition filed by the country’s biggest shipping lines late last week asking the Supreme Court to stop the turnover, described as a “sweetheart deal” between the PPA and MNHPI.

‘Null and illegal’

The Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA) asked the court to declare the deal “null and illegal,” likening North Harbor’s privatization to the controversial construction of Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which was later scrapped by the high court.

“The Manila North Harbor Modernization Project (MNHP) would deprive the government of revenues from port operation, increase shipping operation costs and freight and passenger rates, and subsequently push up prices of goods and commodities transported to Manila from other parts of the country,” the group said in a statement.

Last November, MNHPI won the 25-year contract to modernize the port after it was declared the only qualified bidder.

PLSA said it found several irregularities in the contract that gave MNHPI the rights to operate North Harbor. It also said the consortium should first construct new facilities to make the port more efficient.

The PLSA earlier opposed the imposition of concession fees, which are to paid MNHPI by third-party cargo handlers operating within North Harbor, because this would likely be passed on to consumers in the form of higher cargo and passenger rates. –Jeannette Andrade, Paolo Montecillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer