The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has strongly recommended that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) explore other cost-effective alternatives to monitor containers without burdening its stakeholders. This developed as ARTA revealed the findings of its re-evaluation on the PPA's proposed Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS) to the media Saturday, July 29, after it submitted the report on July 25, 2023 to PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago and other relevant agencies. In a statement, the government’s anti-red tape watchdog said it has completed a “meticulous re-evaluation” of the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for the PPA’s TOP-CRMS, upon the request of various stakeholders to be affected by the proposed regulation. The re-evaluation process is pursuant to ARTA’s mandate to review the proposed regulation by the PPA under Section 17 (g) of Republic Act No. 11032, or the Ease Doing Business Law, ARTA said. Based on ARTA's report, "the 

TOP-CRMS may be a profitable undertaking at the perspective of the regulating entity but may be viewed as burdensome on the part of the stakeholders – P30,735,321,709.65 as against the investment cost of P877,600,000.00

." In light of the findings, ARTA recommended that PPA explore cost-effective alternatives to address potential congestion without burdening stakeholders. Notably, ARTA  noted that a key concern for re-evaluation was the PPA's statement during a June 2023 consultation meeting, stating that there is currently no port congestion. “This contradicts the system's intended purpose, as stated in the submitted RIS,” said ARTA. ARTA further said that although it is noted that the TOP-CRMS is preventive for future congestion, the costs of implementation for the industry should be thoughtfully considered. ARTA highlighted five points and thoroughly documented the re-evaluation process. One, ARTA said, the RIS was submitted for ARTA’s assessment only after the issuance of the Administrative Order and the award of the TOP-CRMS. Second, the report said that, it has been established, and as also admitted by PPA, that there is no congestion inside PPA-regulated ports. Third, while Article IV, Section 6 (a) of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 857 mandates PPA to prescribe rules and regulations, procedures, and guidelines governing the establishment, construction, maintenance, and operation of all ports in the country, including the adoption of necessary measures to remedy congestion in any government port, there is no sound legal and empirical basis to establish the need for the new regulation and to intervene in instances where evidence identifies an issue or a need for intervention following Principle 2 of the Philippine Good Regulatory Principle (PGRP, Item Nos. 11-13, 32- 34). Fourth, the fees associated with the implementation of the TOP-CRMS will entail additional costs to stakeholders, particularly in relation to the utilization of PPA-authorized Container Staging Facility outside the ports (Item Nos. 18-22, 35). Lastly, the collection of additional fees through requiring the stakeholders to register with the TOP-CRMS for them to be accredited, highlights the conflicting mandates of the PPA as regulator and port operator. However, ARTA also said that the final decision on implementing the regulation rests with the PPA and the PPA Board. “We would like to reiterate that notwithstanding the results of the re-evaluation, the decision to implement the regulation is still at the discretion of the PPA General Manager and the PPA Board. The RIS re-evaluation results may be used as a reference in determining whether the proposed regulation will be a viable intervention to implement/adopt or not, revised accordingly, replaced, or scrapped altogether,” the report stated. In sum, ARTA Secretary Ernesto V. Perez told Manila Bulletin in a text message that there is no need for PPA’s TOP-CRMS. “The TOP- CRMS as worded, does not raise nor address the issues on alleged smuggling or hoarding so our re-evaluation focused only on whether or not the PPA has the legal or empirical basis to issue the proposed regulation, and the port congestion and container deposits which the regulation seeks to address were existing to justify the issuance of the regulation without undue regulatory burden or cost not only to PPA but even to the stakeholders,” Perez further clarified. Perez firmly asserted that the re-evaluation was impartial and not influenced by external factors. He stated, "our re-evaluation was diligent, and it stands as our final recommendation, unless either party provides relevant additional documents,” he said. Based on the report, ARTA said the re-evaluation process considered valuable input and data from both government agencies and private stakeholders. ARTA stressed that it is open to considering new evidence that could impact the evaluation outcome, reflecting their commitment to transparency and fair, evidence-based decision-making. “This is in line with President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' R. Marcos, Jr.’s directive in his 2023 State of the Nation Address to solidify the Philippines' reputation as an attractive and reliable investment destination through an enabling business environment and upholding the rule of law,” Perez said in the media statement.