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Manila a step closer to changing cabotage laws

Manila: The Philippines has taken a step further to changing its cabotage laws.

Three committees in congress yesterday voted in favour of measures that will liberalise the entry of foreign vessels between ports in the country.

The House of Representatives has now adopted and approved the Senate version of a bill allowing foreign vessels to transport and co-load foreign cargoes for domestic transhipment.

The bill is likely to be enacted when congress resumes from its spring break at the beginning of May.

“Various studies showed that the high cost of domestic shipping services is attributed to the lack of meaningful competition in the industry,” Las Pinas City representative, Mark Villar commented yesterday.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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