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An official of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development encourages the logistics sector to submit their priority concerns and recommendations that the government may act on to help address the impact of the Middle East conflict
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DEPDev undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon suggests the sector pick priority recommendations that can be elevated to and discussed by the Economic Development Council’s Economic Development Committee
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Edillon also asked the sector to submit longer-term plans, including proposed legislation, to address their issues
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In turn, Edillon hopes the logistics sector will accelerate its move towards modernization, “especially towards greater digitalization”
An official of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) called on the logistics sector to submit their priority concerns and recommendations that the government may act on to help address the impact of the Middle East conflict.
DEPDev undersecretary for Policy and Planning Group Rosemarie Edillon, in her keynote speech at the recent Logistics Services Philippines (LSPH) Conference and Exhibit 2026, acknowledged that one of the sectors “really affected” by the ongoing Middle East conflict is the transport industry, including the logistics sector.
“Let’s work together towards having a very efficient logistics sector. Let us know what you want, but please prioritize, taking into consideration… the urgency of the matter, the shortness of time,” Edillon said.
She suggests the sector pick priority recommendations that can be elevated to and discussed by the Economic Development Council’s Economic Development Committee, which is responsible for harmonizing, coordinating, complementing, and synergizing efforts to ensure the country’s rapid, inclusive, and sustained growth.
READ: LSPH Conference strengthens public-private synergy to tackle logistics bottlenecks
“I’m not of course promising anything. Just give your recommendations and we can discuss it and we can take it up to the corresponding authorities,” she noted.
The biggest impact of the Middle East crisis on the transport and logistics sector is the rising cost of fuel, which accounts for a large portion of operational costs of industry players, including truckers, shipping lines, and airlines.
The government has rolled out some assistance programs, such as reduction of charges and suspension of increase in rates.
The trucking sector, which is not among the beneficiary sectors, is asking for expanding current government relief programs to include truckers, and removal of value-added tax (VAT) on essential inputs directly tied to freight service delivery such as diesel, spare parts, tires, and safety-critical maintenance items.
Regulatory bottlenecks
Edillon also acknowledged that the logistics sector is “really facing a lot of regulations, and therefore also a lot of regulatory bottlenecks.”
As such, she asked the sector to also submit longer-term plans, including proposed legislation, to address the issues.
READ: Logistics, regulatory challenges hamper PH e-commerce growth
She explained, “So there’s a lot of challenges. I think, in the end, ang gusto nating mangyari (what we want) is… the productivity … in our agriculture sector, the productivity in our country. We’re doing a lot in terms of manufacturing 4.0. We’re doing a lot in terms of smart agriculture, lahat (all) productivity enhancing. Sana (I hope) all this would be felt by the consuming public and that is really by addressing that middle point, which is the logistics sector.”
In turn, Edillon said she hopes the logistics sector will accelerate its move towards modernization, “especially towards greater digitalization.”
“We are working towards expanding digital connectivity, and we hope that you will really do your part in investing towards this, the digital digitalization of your own processes,” she added.
Meanwhile, Department of Trade and Industry-Supply Chain and Logistics Group undersecretary Mary Jean Pacheco, in an interview with PortCalls at the sidelines of the conference, said their group “will help guide the private sector through LSPH to bring to government, in this particular case with DEPDev, DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), and all the other agencies of government to look into the priority concerns of the sector.”
Formed in 2018, LSPH is a private sector-led platform dedicated to enhancing the seamless movement of goods and reducing national logistics costs. It includes private sector companies and organizations representing various sectors in the supply chain and logistics industry.
Relatedly, DEPDev assistant secretary Roderick Planta during the same conference announced ongoing work on a Philippine Transportation System Master Plan, envisioned as the strategic framework for passenger and cargo transport development nationwide.— Roumina Pablo
