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The Philippine Ports Authority has released the revised schedule of tariffs for North Port, reflecting the approved 20% increase for cargo-handling and passenger terminal at the Manila North Harbor port
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All the new rates take effect on January 1, 2026 except cargo-handling
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The increase in cargo-handling tariff will be implemented in two tranches, with the first tranche of 10% to take effect on January 1, and the second 10% on July 1, 2026
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has released the revised schedule of tariffs for North Port, reflecting the approved 20% increase for cargo-handling and passenger terminal at the Manila North Harbor port that takes effect on January 1, 2026.
The 20% hike in passenger terminal fee, the 10 new tariff items, and the increases in porterage rates, parking fees, and storage charges, will take effect on January 1, 2026, according to PPA Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 019-2025.
In cargo-handling tariff, the hike will be implemented in two tranches, with the first tranche of 10% to take effect on January 1, 2026, while the second 10% effective on July 1, 2026.
The new rates were approved by the PPA Board through Board Resolution Nos. 3412 to 3417 and are contained in PPA MC No. 018-2025 issued early this month.
The approved rates were slightly lower than the 20.32% increase requested by North Port operator Manila North Harbour Port, Inc. (MNHPI), a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Based on PPA Administrative Order No. 02-2018, which prescribes a standard and uniform formula and procedures for cargo-handling tariff adjustment, 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 jumped 20.32% from 2020 to 2024, according to MNHPI legal cargo and claims head Mark Vincent Escalona during a public consultation on their petition last August.
Escalona said the last cargo-handling tariff and passenger terminal fee adjustment for North Port took effect in 2022, while there has been no adjustment on porterage rates since 2010.
Some of the revised rates under MC No. 019-2025 that will take effect on January 1 are the following:
Containerized cargoes (arrastre)
- Over 5 to 10 footer – P805 loaded, P241 empty
- Over 10 to 20 footer – P1,612 loaded, P644 empty
- Over 20 to 35 footer – P2,821 loaded, P1,129 empty
- Over 35 to 40-footer – P3,223 loaded, P1,290 empty
Containerized cargoes (stevedoring)
- Over 5 to 10 footer – P316
- Over 20 to 35 footer – P525
- Over 35 to 40-footer – P525
Passenger terminal fee – P111 per embarking passenger
Porterage rates
- Up to 200-meter (m) distance – P11 (small, up to 10 kg), P17 (medium, up to 25 kg), P23 (large, up to 50 kg) per piece
- Up to 201m to 350m distance – P23 (small), P29 (medium), P40 (large) per piece
- Up to 351m to 500m distance – P40 (small), P46 (medium), P64 (large) per piece
Starting July 1, 2026, some of the new cargo-handling rates are as follows:
Containerized cargoes (arrastre)
- Over 5 to 10 footer – P879 loaded, P263 empty
- Over 10 to 20 footer – P1,758 loaded, P702 empty
- Over 20 to 35 footer – P3,078 loaded, P1,231 empty
- Over 35 to 40-footer – P3,516 loaded, P1,408 empty
Containerized cargoes (stevedoring)
- Over 5 to 10 footer – P345
- Over 20 to 35 footer – P573
- Over 35 to 40-footer – P573
PPA also approved 10 new tariff items, less than the 13 items proposed by MNHPI.
Escalona earlier explained that the proposed new items were based on services rendered, which incur costs outside the coverage of regular cargo-handling services and/or scope of existing approved rates. The new items, by way of penalty, also aim to encourage compliance with safety best practices, as well as timely submission of critical documentation and arrival of cargoes, all “to ensure continuous and efficient port operations,” he added.
The 10 new tariff items are the following:
- Reefer charges – covers plug-in, plug-out and electrical power of reefer containers, ranges from P92 to P1,040 per box
- Administrative fee – for transactions related to gate pass cancellation, re-printing, replacement, system change and other similar requests, P128 per transaction
- Warehousing – a service rendered upon request, for storage of cargo in a warehouse, providing extra protection from weather and other external conditions, P27 per revenue ton per day
- Pier lighting (night operations) – a surcharge for lighting services at the terminal facility to facilitate safest vessel and cargo operations between 6:00p.m. to 6:00a.m., P97 per hour
- Equipment rental (on-board service) – a service rendered upon request, for the use of equipment to be placed on-board a vessel for operational needs beyond the standard handling procedure/activity, plus 25% of the prevailing equipment rental/hire rates
- Public holiday fee – a surcharge for terminal operations performed on official public holidays, P1,085 per hour per gang
- Container re-positioning – a service rendered upon request, for the movement of container/s or cargo between North Port and foreign ports in the Port of Manila, ensuring seamless flow between special gates, P6,500 per trip
- Penalty for vessels without cell-guides – a penalty imposed on vessels without cell guides, P1,558.00 per lift of man cage
- Penalty for late submission of documentation – a penalty imposed for failure to submit any of the required shipping and/or clearance documents within the specified timeframe, P368 per document
- Container late arrival penalty – a penalty imposed for arrival of container outside the designated cut-off, leading to scheduling inefficiencies and re-handling moves, rates range from P2,220 to P6,200.
—Roumina Pablo
