THE Commonwealth Ports Authority board of directors wants lawmakers to know that some well-intentioned laws are not serving their intended purposes.
One of them is Public Law 19-62, which waived the wharfage on products shipped to Rota and Tinian.
Commonwealth Ports Authority board member Pete P. Reyes speaks during a board meeting on Tuesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
During a meeting on Tuesday, CPA board member Pete P. Reyes, a former lawmaker, asked his colleagues to provide the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives a copy of the report on the actual effect of P.L. 19-62 on commodities on Rota and Tinian and the revenue of CPA.
Authored by Sen. Frank Q. Cruz, the measure waives the wharfage “on all cargo including liquid petroleum products shipped to and from Saipan, Rota West Harbor, or Tinian Harbor.”
It states, “The cost of commodities on Rota and Tinian is a great burden to the consumers.”
“A portion of the added cost is a result of the wharfage fees imposed by CPA on commodities shipped from Saipan to Rota and Tinian,” it added.
“The intent of this Act is to ensure that wharfage fees are charged one time for commodities that are offloaded at any port or harbor under the CPA jurisdiction. The same commodities shall not be assessed wharfage a second time regardless whether the same cargo is shipped from Saipan to Rota or Tinian on a different vessel. In addition, this Act provides that no wharfage fees shall be assessed on cargo shipped to and from any Commonwealth port or harbor.”
Reyes said based on the report, the prices of commodities on Rota and Tinian have been going up instead of going down. Meanwhile, he said, CPA has been losing revenue as a result of the waiver.
“The intent of the law was never carried out,” Reyes said.
“So it’s important that the Legislature knows about it. This is the law that was passed in the 19th Legislature and they should know that the objective is not being accomplished. They should be aware that the revenue of CPA is being lost,” he said.
CPA Board Chairwoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds said she agrees, adding that lawmakers should always be reminded that any measure they want to introduce and passed must be supported by facts and data.
