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Port of Ozamiz operator Globalport Ozamiz Terminal Inc. is seeking a 25.03% increase in tariff rates
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Stakeholders have until November 3 to submit their position papers on the petition
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The request for tariff adjustment, citing upward changes in economic indicators, aims to “protect our workforce, maintain our infrastructure, and guarantee public service”
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This is the first time that Globalport Ozamiz is petitioning for a tariff increase since it took over port operations in October 2021
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By securing the adjustment, Globalport Ozamiz guarantees a projected three-year capital investment of P49.24 million
Globalport Ozamiz Terminal Inc. is seeking a 25.03% increase in tariff rates at the Port of Ozamiz in Misamis Occidental.
The request for tariff adjustment – the first time that the company is seeking one since 2021 – aims to “protect our workforce, maintain our infrastructure, and guarantee public service”, Phoebe Gogorza, vice president for port terminal operations of Globalport Ozamiz’ parent firm, Globalport Terminals Inc. (GTI), said in a presentation during a public hearing on their proposal conducted by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on October 26.
Stakeholders have until November 3 to submit their position papers on the petition.
“Even though our operations are optimized, we cannot control external financial drivers since our uniform tariff baseline was anchored in 2019 when the uniform Tier 3 tariff was established,” Gogorza noted.
GTI and Z.C. Integrated Port Services, Inc. was awarded the 15-year port terminal management contract for Ozamiz port in 2021. It officially took over in October that year, using PPA’s uniform base tariff for Tier 3 ports, which was issued in 2019. GTI in 2022 incorporated Globalport Ozamiz–among several other indirect subsidiaries–to manage, operate, and maintain Ozamiz port.
Gorgoza noted that the consumer price index (CPI) has escalated by 34.47% since 2019, driving up the port operator’s baseline costs for operations, including the purchase of supplies, utilities, and external services.
Higher labor, fuel, other costs
The statutory minimum wage rate has also grown by 39.7% since 2019, resulting in a 15% rise in cargo-handling labor cost between 2021 and 2025.
Global energy prices shooting up by 97.5% from 2019 also drove equipment and service vehicle operating costs by 36% between 2021 and 2025.
Philippine peso depreciation has also driven the exchange rate up by 23.6%, resulting in a 122% cost spike between 2021 and 2025 for importing heavy equipment gears and equipment spare parts.
“At present, Globalport Ozamiz is operating at a 2026 economy on a 2019 revenue baseline, thus, our request for tariff adjustment,” Gogorza said.
“By securing this adjustment, Globalport Ozamiz guarantees a projected three-year capital investment of P49.24 million,” Gogorza said. The capital will fund manpower development and training, extensive re-fleeting and maintenance of cargo handling equipment and gears, and further improvement in digitalization.
Globalport Ozamiz’s petition is pursuant to PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 02-2018, which prescribes the authority’s standard and uniform formula and procedures for cargo-handling tariff adjustment, and PPA AO 11-2019, which provides the omnibus rules of procedures on private service provider-initiated applications for new tariff and /or adjustment of fees and charges.
Gorgoza said Globalport Ozamiz has complied with and is eligible for tariff increase under the two AOs.
Under AO 02-2018, which took effect in March 2018, the cargo-handling/terminal operator may apply for a cargo-handling tariff adjustment if the CPI has increased by at least 5% within a three-year period.
CPI, computed and provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority, is a statistical measure of the average retail pricing of goods and services commonly purchased by a particular group of people in a particular area.
Gogorza said CPI has changed 25.03% from 2019 to 2025.
Compliance to contract commitments
Moreover, she said Globalport Ozamiz has complied with its contractual commitments, having a 100% rating on its cargo-handling compliance report as of September 2026.
In terms of vessel productivity, the port can handle 12 containers per hour per crane, 44 containers per hour per ramp, 33 metric tons cargo per hour per crane of breakbulk cargo, 90 metric tons (mt) per hour per ramp of breakbulk cargo, and 27 minutes average truck stay time per transaction (gate in to gate out).
To date, it has over 586,560 safe man-hours and a 4.6 out of 5 overall rating on customer satisfaction.
Gogorza noted that sustaining this performance required massive capital expenditure over the years.
Globalport Ozamiz has to date spent P104.9 million on cargo-handling equipment and facility improvements, P4.2 million for the acquisition of 58 sets of specialized gears, and P5.97 million on its digitalization projects.
The Globalport Terminals Operating System Plus (GOTOS+), which provides automated and real-time capture of vessel and cargo movement in the gates, yard, and vessel, and enables cargo pre-advising and gate pass issuance, was implemented in June 2024.
GTOS PRO for passenger QR coding system, paperless roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) entry, and porterage system transaction was implemented in September 2026.
Ozamiz port, Gogorza added, successfully handles yearly 7,066 ship calls, 39,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 124,000 mt or cubic meters (cbm) of bulk and break bulk cargo, 579,000 passengers, and 66,000 Ro-Ro vehicles.
The port operator also employs 281 locals, and has been conducting social and environmental programs beyond port operations.
Sample rates
The following are sample stevedoring rates, including the current rate and the new rate if the proposed 25.03% increase is approved:
- Deformed bars – from the current P1.90 per piece to proposed P2.38 per piece, or from the current P543 per mt or cbm to P679 per mt/cbm
- Rice in bags – from P0.13 per kilogram (kg) to P0.16 per kg, or from P130 per mt/cbm to P163 per mt/cbm
- Cement in bags – from P0.49 per kg to P0.61 per kg, or from P489 per mt/cbm to P612 per mt/cbm
- Coconut oil (bulk cargo) – from the current P0.013 per liter to P0.017 per liter, or from P14 per mt/cbm to P18 per mt/cbm
- Laden container via lift-on/lift-off – from P0.11 per kg to P0.14 per kg, or from P2,008 per TEU to P2,511 per TEU
- Laden container via chassis Ro-Ro/stowable Ro-Ro – from P0.03 per kg to P0.04 per kg, or from P549 per TEU to P687 per TEU
Other rates include:
- Passenger terminal fee – from P30 to P40 per pax
- Porterage – from P50 per bag to P65 per bag
Exemptions on passenger terminal fees, as well as the government’s reduced P1 Ro-Ro terminal fee (RRTF) program for agricultural products, will still be implemented. Gogorza noted that exemptions account for 14% of total embarking passengers, or P15 million in waived fees to date, while P17,500 has been waived under the reduced RRTF.
Ro-Ro terminal fee:
- Type 1 – from P58.04 per unit to P72.16 per unit
- Type 2 – from P115.18 per unit to P142.56 per unit
- Type 3 – P230.36 per unit to P284.24 per unit
- Type 4 – P460.71 per unit to P568.48 per unit
Additional rates for vessel side support services, particularly waste reception, will range from P130-P550 per call and depending on the domestic vessel’s gross tonnage. There will also be an additional P1,630 in the rate for complex oily waste.
For large foreign vessels, waste collection increase will range from P2,550-P5,100, depending on vessel size.
Line handling increase, meanwhile, will range from P30 to P410, depending on ship size.
Proposed adjustment to value-added services will range from P3 to P323, depending on the service, which can be requested or are structurally incidental during the course of cargo handling operations.—Roumina Pablo
