' Thursday, Septemb er 5, 2Ol9
DICT to prrrbe tolorurd
courier services of aliens
OLLOWING the rdPorted
"colorum" courier services
being.operated bY foreign
companies, the House of RePr€-
seniatives and the DePartment of
Information and Communications
Teehnology (DICT) both agreed to
regdlate ttre couriers"'and freight
forwardin$ s€rvices in the country'
During the 2020 budget briefing
of the DICT last TuesdaY, Informa-
tion and Communications Technol-
ogy SecretarY Gringo Honasan said
there is need to regulate couriers and
freight forwarding services to pro-
tect consumers from unscruPulous
and unlicensed comPanies.
alreadY noticed this com-
plicated situation," Honasan con-
ceded, in reply to lawmakers.
Buhay PartY-list ReP. Lito Atien-
za calledth,e attention of DICT on
the reported foreign colorum courier
services that are doing business in
the country.
According to Atienza, there is a
growing problem in this industrY
particularlywith the entry of illegal
couriers which are mostly foreign-
ovrned. He said there's really need to
regulate it, considering that 67 pet-
cent of Filipinos are on the Internet.
Atienza added that government
agencies should also look into these
companies that are rePortedlY oP-
erating without ProPer license.
The lawmaker said since the
e-commerce and courier industrY
is growing fast, there is a need to
protect the consumers and users
of these products that are ordered
online and delivered to their houses
and offices.
Atienza added that there are
\r;o{qar -A8_'
instances when these couriers are
used illegally.
He said some of these services
are found to be violating the 60-
40 constitutional limits on foreign
ownership.
The lawmaker said since theY
operate as a Public service or con-
venience, logistics comPanies are
supposed to be covered bY the 60-
40 ownershiP rule.
Probe sought
MEANWHILE, Atienza said he is
now preParing a resolution direct-
ing a House committee to look into
the colorum oPerators, which he
described as a sYndicate,'because
oT thtii effect on the legitimate
courier and forwarding companies'
"If we start our investigation,
will you cooperate? Ano nabanggi-
nagawang DICT lWhat is DICT do-
ingl fo protect the consumers from
these illegal touriers?" Atienza
asked.
"We will start a Congressional
hearing, to look into this deePer
so that together we can formulate
whatever effective lalAls," he added'
For his Part, Honasan said
his agency is alreadY conduct-
ing a study and its own -inves-
tigation to determine those
behind the illegal oPeration'
"'We will fulXY cooPerate and
participate in any congressional
inquiry," Honasan stressed.
Atienzasaid, "If weneedto craft
alawto regulate the courier services
to protect the consumers and the
small-time players in the industry,
we will hive to do it."
N. dela Cruz
lovee Morie