I was not only present at the Fairmont Makati on May 6 for the Logistics Services Philippines (LSPH) Conference & Exhibit 2026 — I helped build the LSPH platform. As one of the convenors of the LSPH and a signatory to the Ten Commitments, I sat through every session, carrying the weight of someone invested in this work since the beginning: proud of what has been achieved, clear-eyed about what has not, and increasingly urgent about closing the gap between the two.
This platform knows what it stands for. It is now time to act on it.
The conference addressed the full scope of our sector’s challenges. Logistics costs remain high — port dwell times are triple those of our regional neighbors, and spiraling diesel prices, which consume up to 66 percent of trip revenue, are pushing operators to the edge of viability. Infrastructure priorities are equally clear: two inter-island super-bridges to physically connect our archipelago, a systematic push for local economic roads to close the first-mile gap, and a National Warehouse Registry to finally map what we have and what we lack.
The digitalization agenda centers on the Philippine Unified Logistics Platform — a unified digital infrastructure with a supply chain control tower that shifts the sector from reactive troubleshooting to predictive, data-driven management. In trade facilitation, the sector continues to confront a Bureau of Customs caught between a digital mandate and a Customs Modernization and Tariff Act that still technically requires paper, regulatory paper trails and permits, and container yards operating at a critical absorption rate.
On the green agenda, the defining question is whether the Electric Vehicle Development Act can deliver a genuine competitive advantage rather than remain another compliance burden — particularly as fuel costs continue to strain the very operators we need to transition.
We should acknowledge the progress made since 2018. The DTI’s Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG) has steadily advanced the agenda. EO 41 suspended LGU pass-through fees. The Supply Chain and Logistics Center was launched last year — a significant institutional step toward sustained implementation. The ongoing NSW TradeX will soon integrate 77 agencies into a single portal. The e-AWB enabling regulations will pave the way for paperless air cargo processes. These are among the results of eight years of dedicated public-private collaboration and deserve honest recognition.
But recognition does not equate to satisfaction. Since the Ten Commitments were signed in 2018, the same structural barriers persist: high port costs, regulatory friction, and a user-pays model that every serious ASEAN competitor has long since abandoned.
Progress is real, but the pace has not been enough.
By 2028, this sector needs more than another institutional body or a better-worded commitment. It requires a signed, enforceable Zero-Paper customs memorandum order. It requires passing the International Maritime Trade Competitiveness Act before another round of excessive shipping charges goes uncontested. It requires conditions that allow a trucker to complete a trip sustainably.
LSPH and the SCLG have built the foundation. The next chapter calls for relentless, unglamorous work to close the gap between what we committed to and what we have actually delivered.
Samuel C. Bautista writes Ask the Customs Wiz column on customs, trade, logistics and workforce development. For your comments, email him – thecustomswiz@gmail.com
