THE courier and freight business in the Philippines has become a R36-billion industry, linked to the growth of on-line sales in the country, which in turn is part of the booming worldwide online shopping market.
This global online shopping market is predicted to hit $4 trillion in 2020, with the United States consumers leading the worldwide trend, followed by the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, China, Russia, and Brazil. The rest of the world, including the Philippines, is quickly following the trend of online shopping for such goods as smartphones, clothes, and household supplies.
The trend in the Philippines, however, has given rise to the problem of proliferation of illegal and unlicensed foreign couriers serving the industry. The Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) said it has received numerous complaints of lost packages, misdeliveries, and non-deliveries by many services which do not have the necessary licenses and permits from the government
During the last deliberations in Congress on the national budget, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza asked Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio Honasan to look into the operations of these couriers, which are dependent on online connectivity in their operations
CCW National President Diego Magpantay and Chief Legal Counsel Ferdinand Topacio said the DICT issued a warning against unregistered companies but, they said, nothing concrete has been done to shut them down. There are labor laws that are being blatantly ignored, they said, such as those on wages, health benefits, and social security for personnel. “There are also reports that colorum couriers, wittingly or unwittingly, have been tapped to deliver drugs and other contraband by criminal syndicates.”
Records of the DICT show that there are now 118 of these courier services accredited by the DICT. A check on their compliance with regulatory policies, laws, and regulations of the country would be the first step of an inquiry, followed by specific cases of contraband deliveries. The Quiapo bomb blast in 2017 was reported traced to a package sent by one service to the consignee, the CCW said.
In the Senate, Sen. Sonny Angara said the DICT has been granted an increase of P6.2 billion in its 2020 budget to enable it to transition quickly into the digital age.
In the House, Congressman Atienza can press for an inquiry on the P36-billion courier and freight industry in the wake of the complaints and its continuing tremendous growth along with the worldwide trend towards greater online business and industry.
