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The Philippine Ports Authority will not act—for now—on the proposal to increase the passenger terminal fee at Batangas port from P30 to P100
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This is in response to the request of Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor after his province was placed under a state of calamity for a year due to the impacts of the southwest monsoon rains and tropical storms Dante and Emong last July
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Operator Asian Terminals Inc.-Batangas earlier proposed for a P100 passenger terminal fee at the Batangas port as ‘a cost recovery measure’ meant to ‘sustain the high standards at the terminal’
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will not act—for now—on the proposal to increase the passenger terminal fee at the Batangas port from P30 to P100. This is in response to the request of Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor after his province was placed under a state of calamity for a year due to the impacts of the southwest monsoon rains and tropical storms Dante and Emong last July.
“Habang pinag-aaralan ng PPA ang petition for terminal fee increase, batid ng PPA na ang Oriental Mindoro, kung saan marami sa mga kababayan natin na gumagamit sa Batangas Passenger Terminal ay kasalukuyang naninirahan, ay nasa state of calamity. Kung kaya’t bilang tugon sa panawagan ni Gov. Bonz Dolor na ipagpaliban muna ang terminal fee increase habang nasa state of calamity ang Oriental Mindoro, nagdesisyon ang PPA na hintayin munang makabangon ang Oriental Mindoro mula sa kasalukuyang state of calamity,” PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago in a statement.
(PPA is still studying the petition for a terminal fee increase but also recognizes that Oriental Mindoro — many residents of whom use the Batangas Passenger Terminal — is still in a state of calamity. We are heeding Governor Bonz Dolor’s call to place the petition on hold and will wait for Oriental Mindoro to recover.)
PPA will decide on the proposal once the state of calamity declaration is lifted, Santiago added, noting a technical working group will look at the effect of the proposal on passengers, operations of the port, and the local economy when it decides.
Santiago said PPA will continue to coordinate with the local government units and concerned government agencies to implement measures to help fast-track the rehabilitation of affected areas in Oriental Mindoro.
Asian Terminals Inc.-Batangas (ATIB), which operates Batangas port, said: “We respect the position of PPA to temporarily postpone the process of review and evaluation of ATI’s petition for the passenger terminal fee increase in Batanags Port in view of the prevailing state of calamity in the province of Oriental Mindoro. As a private sector investor and operator of Batangas Port, our petition is based on our rights and obligations under our contractual agreement with government. As our regulator, we will follow the instructions and guidance of PPA as the sole authority over the matter.”
ATIB earlier proposed a P100 passenger terminal fee at the Batangas port, up 233% from the current P30 fee.
READ: ATI seeks P100 passenger terminal fee in Batangas port from P30
The increase is “a cost recovery measure” meant to “sustain the high standards at the terminal,” ATIB said in a presentation during the public hearing of its proposal on July 4. Stakeholders were given time to submit their position papers on the proposal.
ATIB noted there has been no increase in passenger terminal fee at Batangas since 2010.
The terminal operator said its petition, which was submitted in October 2024, was found to be compliant with contractual commitments and eligibility requirements under Section 11 of Philippine Ports Authority Administrative Order No. 11-2019, which provides the authority’s omnibus rules of procedure on private service provider-initiated applications for new tariff and adjustment of fees and charges in ports.
ATIB said the proposed fee was computed using the total cost to operate the terminal divided by the projected paying passenger volume.
Of the proposed P100 terminal fee (inclusive of value-added tax) ATIB said 38% will be for the maintenance and upkeep of facilities to ensure the standards and efficiency of the infrastructure and passenger service quality for a long time; 18% goes to labor costs; 14% goes to safety and security expenses to safeguard passengers and stakeholders’ and the rest to cover the cost of utilities and other administrative costs for daily operations.
Students, persons with disability, the elderly, and uniformed personnel and Medal of Valor recipients and their first-degree dependents remain exempt from the terminal fee.
ATIB said the fee includes free use of the playrooms and prayer rooms, restrooms, breastfeeding area, ambulance for emergency transport, shuttle service from the terminal gates to the vessel ramps, push carts, e-shuttles and wheelchairs, water refilling stations, wi-fi and charging stations, clinic services and first aid medicines.
The operator compared its proposed terminal fee to other facilities, such as the P104.5 fee in North Port, Manila North Harbor, P150 for Boracay, and P200 for Ninoy Aquino International Airport (set to increase to P390 by September).
Moreover, ATIB said the “modernization of the Batangas passenger terminal was achieved without any cost to the government under the public-private partnership framework.”
Inaugurated in April 2024, the $25-million modernization project expanded the passenger terminal building’s floor area to 15, 000 square meters (sqm) from the previous 4,500 sqm, allowing the facility to handle over 8,000 passengers at any one time or nearly 400% capacity growth from the previous 1,700 passengers. – Roumina Pablo
