CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Ford Group Philippines president Richard Carl Baker said the American Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. are firm in their stance that Executive Order No. 156, which bans the importation of second-hand vehicles, applies to the whole of the Philippines, not only to the Subic Bay Freeport.
"With regards to Port Irene, our position is that we believe that EO 156 clearly states that the importation of used cars is not permitted in the Philippines and we believe that the executive order applies to the whole country," Baker said in a roundtable discussion with media on Wednesday at the Ford Pampanga here.
Port Irene is located at the Cagayan Economic Zone in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, which, reports said, has replaced the Subic Bay Freeport as an entry point of used cars.
An internal draft report of the Amcham claimed that the used-car import business at the CEZ is "illegal and contrary" to EO 156.
The final ruling of the Supreme Court, issued on Oct. 30, 2007, denied the motion of the Motor Vehicles Importers Association of the Subic Bay Freeport (MVIASBF) to sell the used cars outside the freeport.
The Feb. 26, 2006 decision on EO 156, penned by Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, ruled that "motor vehicles that come into the Philippine territory via the secured fenced-in former Subic Naval Base area may be stored, used or traded therein or exported out of the Philippine territory, but they cannot be imported into the Philippine territory outside of the secured fenced-in former Subic Naval Base area."
Heeding the final ruling, the state-firm Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in November 2007 impounded the 2,970 imported used cars, estimated to be worth around P1 billion. The amnesty appealed by the MVIASBF is pending at the SBMA.
EO 418, on the other hand, allowed the importation of used cars provided that importers pay a tariff of P500,000 for each unit. CEZ-based importers argued that EO 418 superseded EO 156 and that the latter applied only to the Subic Bay Freeport.
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, whose home province is Cagayan, said EO 156 was unconstitutional and challenged the government to close the used-car import trade at the CEZ.
Supreme Court spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez last week said the ban covers Philippine territory outside the Subic Bay Freeport. Malacañang, through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, said however that the ban applied only to the Subic Bay Freeport.
Baker has not alleged car smuggling at the CEZ but said the Philippine government is encouraged to "ensure that they can create an environment where the laws determine what is done."
Amcham’s report said the CEZ had already imported 8,000 vehicles in 34 months. A Ford representative joined the team that visited Port Irene last May, Baker said.
"The automotive industry fully supports Resolution 448 which is the Senate inquiry into all forms of smuggling in the Philippines," he said, adding: "Our position is clear that all forms of smuggling, no matter what they are, should be prevented because it robs the country of revenue that is entitled to be earned from materials that are exported."
