ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines —The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA-Iloilo) is aiming to make the Port of Iloilo as world-class.

“We really want to have one of the best managed ports in the world,” said Port of Iloilo manager Winfred Elizalde at the launching of the Port Safety Health and Environment Management System (PSHEMS).

The PSHEMS is designed to strengthen safety and environment management policies that would ensure more efficient service to both passengers and cargoes that enter and exit Iloilo.

Elizalde said that safety is one of Iloilo Port’s top priorities with PSHEMS aiming to have zero accident in handling passengers, cargoes, container vans, and trucks.

“We don’t want to put anyone’s life in danger,” Elizalde emphasized.

Said PSHEMS will also make sure that the Port of Iloilo will comply with national laws and applicable international standards for operation.

Meanwhile, it was learned that PPA-Iloilo is a recent recipient of technical guidance from Partnership in Environmental Management for South East Asia (PEMSEA) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) to implement PSHEMS.

Along with the Port of Cagayan de Oro, the Port of Iloilo is one of two pilot sites for PSHEMS in the country. If successful, it will be replicated in all ports across the archipelago.

The Port of Iloilo annually serves approximately three million passengers and two million metric tons of cargo.