Local government unit (LGUs) executives of disaster-struck areas are to take charge of distributing donated relief goods in inaccessible areas in their respective localities, under a measure passed unanimously by the House of Representatives that accords free freight or transport services for the delivery of such handouts to cities and municipalities under a state of calamity, Camarines Sur Rep. and former Camarines Sur governor LRay Villafuerte said.
The approved House Bill (HB) No. 10924, or the “Free Transportation of Relief Goods Act,” likewise grants tax incentives to private logistics companies such as freight forwarders and carriers for delivering for free such donated relief goods bound for calamity-affected communities, said Villafuerte, a co-author of this measure.
By “relief goods,” the bill means food packs and non-food items like clothes, mats, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen wares, water containers, hygiene kits and medical and health-related products to be given directly to disaster victims.
“This unanimously-approved measure aims to let the government partner with carriers or freight forwarders on the cost-free transport of relief goods to places that have been placed under a state of calamity,” said Villafuerte, who is president of the National Unity Party (NUP).
“It seeks to enhance the present quick response mechanisms by ensuring the quick delivery of donated relief goods to people in cities and municipalities that have been declared under a state of calamity,” Villafuerte said,” and tasks LGU heads to take charge of delivering such items in the remote or unreachable places in their respective localities.”
By “relief goods,” the bill means food packs and non-food items like clothes, mats, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen wares, water containers, hygiene kits and medical and health-related products to be given directly to disaster victims.
HB 10294 was passed by a 182-0 vote.
As pointed out by Speaker Martin Romualdez, said Villafuerte, this bill will remove a critical bottleneck in disaster response by “eliminating transportation costs and streamlining the delivery process, (to) ensure that aid reaches disaster victims when they need it most.”
Villafuerte said that under HB 10294, freight companies, common carriers, private carriers, freight forwarders and other firms providing local logistic services shall provide free transport services to duly registered relief organizations in the delivery of emergency relief goods and donated articles to areas under a state of calamity, as declared by the President or by LGUs, through their respective Sanggunian or legislative councils.
The National and Regional Logistics Cluster led by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), in coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and in partnership with the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost), shall oversee such provision of free transport services to calamity-struck areas by private freight companies, common carriers, private carriers, freight forwarders and other businesses that provide logistic services.
“When the area of destination is not accessible, the relief goods shall be delivered and consigned to the local chief executive of the nearest LGU,” according to HB 10294.
This bill states that the areas where these transport firms operate shall “be considered when availing of the free freight services of common carriers, private carriers, freight forwarders and other logistics companies.”
It provides that the auxiliary shipping costs, including those for arrastre services, pilotage and other port charges, as well as the airport charges, such as those for landing and takeoff fees, aircraft parking, navigation charges, and other related airport charges that are routinely passed on to customers, shall “be waived by the concerned port and airport authorities.”
However, the container van costs, turnaround time and volume of cargo being shipped free of charge shall be considered to minimize the loss of profits for the private logistics companies, the bill states.
This bill calls upon the State to encourage altruism among the citizens and engage the services of public and private common carriers, freight forwarders, freight companies and other logistics companies to “collect, sort, store, transport, and deliver relief goods donated by international and local donors to areas declared in a ‘state of calamity’ in the most economical, reliable, speedy and secure manner.”
“Arrastre” refers to the fee for handling and hauling cargo at the port from unloading the cargo from ships up to loading it onto trucks or other means of transportation for delivery to the designated areas.
“Pilotage” refers to the services provided by the marine pilot, who is an experienced ship captain with in-depth knowledge of a specific port, harbor, or navigable waterway.
HB 10294 directs the National and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (NDRRMCs), through their Response Clusters, to facilitate the speedy movement of people, goods and equipment to the affected population and responding agencies, in coordination with local law enforcement agencies, port authorities and concerned organizations.
It provides that the release of the donated relief goods to the intended disaster-affected places shall comply with the existing rules and procedures of the Departments of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), of Education (DepEd) and of Health (DOH); Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the LGUs authorized to distribute the relief goods; and in consideration of the prevailing policies of the participating freight service and logistics companies and carriers.
Common carriers, private carriers and other logistics companies assigned to provide free freight services for the transport of relief goods are entitled under the bill to 100% additional deduction from gross income of the amount of the cost incurred for the service provided, including the actual cost of salaries and allowances of personnel directly involved in transporting the relief goods.
However, to avail of the additional deduction, the bill requires the common carriers, private carriers and other logistics companies to secure proper certification from the appropriate government agency that the expenses claimed as deduction pertain to the transport services actually provided for the delivery of the relief goods.
Also, the bill does not preclude the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from conducting, if it intends to, a post-audit of the tax deductions availed of by the logistics services companies.
The OCD and the DOTr—through the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)—are directed under the bill to take charge of monitoring and overseeing the compliance of the freight service companies or carriers with the provision of freefreight services.
CamSur was the hardest hit province by severe tropical storm Kristine, the first among the unusual stream of six cyclones that struck Bicol and other parts of the country in succession in less than a month.
With the recent signing into law of Republic Act (RA) No. 12076 establishing evacuation centers (ECs) in every city and municipality in the country, Villafuerte proposed that the government consider building mega disaster-ready ECs in elevated places that are unreachable by floods and are big enough to accommodate the increasing number of evacuees.
Considering that the government cannot build permanent ECs nationwide all at the same time, the former governor and co-author of RA 12076 said it should give priority to the construction of such mega shelters in elevated areas in high-risk places such as those in CamSur that are low-lying and flood-prone.
Villafuerte said these temporary shelters should be big enough to make room for the ever-increasing number of evacuees, given the onslaught of typhoons of increasing intensity and frequency, and the laudable government policy of preemptive evacuation of families in high-risk villages ahead of the actual arrival of the cyclones.
To help CamSur and the rest of Bicol quickly recover from Kristine, which caused largescale destruction after dumping two months’ worth of rainfall in just one day, Villafuerte earlier proposed a P20-billion Bicol Recovery and Rehabilitation Fund (BRRF), which is similar to the P10-billion fund put up in the 1990s for the reconstruction of the Luzon provinces devastated by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
He said this proposed BRRF can, among others, finance the Bicol River Basin Development Program (BRBDP), which is the defunct project that President Marcos is reviving in 2025 for the flood mitigation works on the Bicol River, the country’s 8th biggest tributary whose overflow during storms is mainly responsible for Camarines Sur’s chronic flooding.
