-
The Philippine Ports Authority approved a 16% increase in tariff at Batangas port, to be implemented in two tranches
-
The first tranche of 10% will take effect no earlier than July 1, 2025 while the second tranche of 6% will be imposed no earlier than January 1, 2026
-
PPA’s Commercial Services Department will issue the revised schedule of cargo-handling tariff for Batangas port within 30 days following the publication of MC 010-2025 on May 15
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has approved a 16% increase in tariff at Batangas port, to be implemented in two tranches.
The first tranche of 10% will take effect no earlier than July 1, 2025 while the second tranche of 6% will be imposed no earlier than January 1, 2026, according to PPA Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 010- 2025.
The implementation of the new tariff at Batangas port Phases 1 and 2 is pursuant to PPA Board Resolution No. 3318, which approved the increase.
PPA’s Commercial Services Department will issue the revised schedule of cargo-handling tariff for Batangas port within 30 days following the publication of MC 010-2025 on May 15.
The approved tariff increase is slightly lower than the 16.55% upward adjustment that port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) and its unit, Asian Terminals Inc.-Batangas (ATIB), had earlier proposed.
READ: ATI seeks 16.55% hike in Batangas port cargo-handling tariff
ATI on March 26, 2024 filed a petition, which was found eligible by PPA, for the increase in cargo-handling tariff and other cargo-handling related and miscellaneous charges covering Batangas Port Phases 1 and 2.
Phase 1 handles passenger, roll-on/roll-off, and bulk cargoes, while Phase 2, called the Batangas Container Terminal, serves international containerized cargoes.
The last tariff increase of Batangas port Phases 1 and 2 was in 2022, when PPA approved a 10% upward adjustment.
The petition is pursuant to PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 02-2018, which prescribes a standard and uniform formula and procedures for cargo-handling tariff adjustment.
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 consumer price index (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.
Two public hearings on ATI’s proposal were held in May and June last year. ATI in its presentation during the public hearings said CPI has been following an upward trend since 2020, with inflation breaching the 5% mark in 2022 and 2023.
ATI said it has also fulfilled its commitment in the past years to continuously develop Batangas port, with its capital investment (capex) hitting P1.3 billion from 2021 to 2023. For Phase 1, substantial investment was made in the expansion and modernization of the passenger terminal building, which was inaugurated in April 2024.
Investments in Phase 2, meanwhile, were centered on information technology projects, such as the automated gate system to enhance the efficiency of operations in the terminal.
For 2024 to 2026, ATI said it plans a capex of P3.45 billion for projects on asset protection and passenger safety and security.
