THE Commonwealth Ports Authority board of directors last week reported revenue loss amounting to $37,912.22 in December 2022 as a result of Public Law 19-62 which waives wharfage fees at harbors on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
Authored by Sen. Frank Q. Cruz and signed in an acting capacity as governor by then-Lt. Gov. Victor B. Hocog in August 2016, P.L. 19-62 waives the wharfage fees on cargo shipped to and from Saipan, Tinian and Rota, “regardless of the vessel, from any port or harbor under CPA jurisdiction and subsequently shipped to its final destination at any other port or harbor in the Commonwealth.”
Proponents said the cost of commodities on Rota and Tinian “is a great burden to consumers,” and a portion of the cost was the wharfage fees imposed on cargoes shipped to Rota and Tinian.
During its meeting on Tuesday, the CPA board’s seaport committee chairman Pete P. Reyes said the $37,912.22 revenue loss in December 2022 was “the interesting part” of his report.
The seaport on Saipan lost $7,766.47 in outbound wharfage revenue to the waiver law. On Tinian, CPA did not earn the $26,519.67 it should have collected for inbound wharfage fees also due to P.L. 19-62.
Pete P. Reyes
