By Ben Rosario The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has backed the House of Representatives in its bid to push for a measure that will regulate couriers and freight forwarding services to protect consumers against abusive practices and unlicensed companies. DICT Secretary Gringo Honasan
(DICT / TWITTER / MANILA BULLETIN) In a budget briefing before the House Committee on Appropriations, DICT Secretary Gringo Honasan admitted that the DICT is concerned about the problem in couriers and freight forwarding service industry, particularly with the entry of illegal couriers which are mostly foreign-owned. Honasan was responding to a query on the issue by Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza. “Hindi lang courier and forwarding ang tinitignan natin dito, nandiyan pa ang Angkas at iba pang nauuso,” Honasan said.  (Our concern is not limited to courier and forwarding, there are also Angkas and others to look into) Atienza called the attention of the DICT on the reported foreign “colorum” courier services that are doing business in the country and unknowingly putting the Filipino consumers and their cargoes at risk plus the unpaid taxes. The party-list lawmaker said he is set to file a resolution calling for an in-depth investigation on the syndicate because of its effect on the legitimate courier and forwarding companies that are paying the right taxes to the government. “If we start our investigation, will you cooperate? Ano na ba ang ginagawa ng DICT to protect the consumers from these illegal couriers?” Atienza asked. “We will start a Congressional hearing to look into this deeper so that together, we can formulate whatever effective laws,” he added. The former Senator responded by saying the DICT is already conducting a study and its own investigation to determine who are behind the illegal operation. “We will fully cooperate and participate in any Congressional inquiry,” Honasan said. Based on reports, the industry is now worth some P36 billion and Atienza said there's really a need to regulate it, considering that 67 percent of Filipinos are on the Internet. Earlier, Atienza called on government agencies to look into companies that are reportedly operating without proper licenses. Among the largest of such companies is Ninja Express which is reportedly wholly owned by Ninja Logistics PTE, LTD – a Singaporean corporation. Another company, J&T, is a forwarder licensed by the DTI and the CAB but reportedly has no DICT approval to render domestic courier services. A company called Black Arrow Express is licensed to operate in Metro Manila but has apparently extended its operations to Cebu and Leyte. And since the e-commerce and courier industry is growing fast, Atienza underscored the need to protect the consumers and users of these products ordered online and delivered to their houses and offices. The veteran solon also said there are instances that these couriers are being used illegally. Just recently, drug packages were discovered to be delivered through courier services. A Grab driver also uncovered a scheme by drug traffickers in refusing to open the package he was tasked to deliver. When it was reported to the police, it was discovered that the package contained drugs. In another instance, a TNVS driver was arrested while delivering another drug package to a consignee. The Quiapo explosion in May 2017 was also traced to a package sent and carried by a Grab driver to its consignee. Apart from consumer safety, some of these services are found to be violating constitutional limits on foreign ownership. Since they operate as a public service or convenience, logistics companies are supposed to be covered by the 60-40 ownership rule. “If we need to craft a law to regulate the courier services to protect the consumers and the small-time players in the industry, we will have to do it,” Atienza said.