Manila: The cabotage law in the Philippines could be repealed this year, the Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said over the weekend.
Speaking at a conference in Mindanao Abaya said he is hoping for the amendment of the law to be filed in the Congress this year.
Extremely high shipping costs are a direct result of the nation’s tight cabotage laws whereby it costs more to shift goods from Manila to Davao than it does from the capital to Singapore.
Abaya did caution however that the law change might take more time.
"We have to go slow on this,” he said. “It is not as simple as we think because if we open up without being competitive, it could also mean a degradation of the local shipping industry.” [19/08/13]
