MANILA - The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has started a review of its operations with the aim of reducing the cost of shipping goods and maritime travel. In a statement on Tuesday, PPA officer-in-charge (OIC) General Manager Manuel Boholano said the areas being considered for review are regulatory and statutory costs being levied by the PPA as well as indirect costs related to the efficiency and productivity of ports under its jurisdiction. "This is a challenge that we gladly take, so let us start looking into this directive," Boholano said. The PPA, he said, is set to meet with other maritime government agencies, shipping line operators, and other port stakeholders to discuss the "efficient utilization" of facilities, especially in high-volume ports or "gateway ports" like in Manila, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, and Iloilo. "PPA is also accelerating the digitalization of its processes like the Internet-based Port Operations and Receipting for Terminals System, the e-Permit Management System, the Transport Accreditation, Permits and Pass for Ports, and interconnecting with other government agencies to facilitate the movement of cargoes and turnaround time of vessels faster delivery of raw materials for shippers and businesses resulting in lower overheads and quicker travel time for regular passengers and tourists," he said. The modernization and improvement of infrastructures, he said, is set to continue and is seen to provide shippers, regular sea-going passengers, and tourists with comfort and convenience. He said the planned cost reduction will be on top of existing discounts for students, senior citizens, differently-abled persons, uniformed personnel, Medal of Valor awardees, and their first-degree kin in the payment of passenger terminal fees in all PPA-controlled ports. To date, the PPA posted an increase of 130 percent in passenger volume or 20.87 million passengers from January to May 2022, compared to 9.07 million passengers in the first five months of 2021. On the other hand, container cargo traffic has increased by 3.84 percent to 3.12 million twenty-foot units (TEU) from only 3 million in the same period in 2021. (PNA) }