At a time when many public-private initiatives die — often somewhere between the second meeting and the first change in leadership — it is refreshing and deeply encouraging to see Logistics Services Philippines (LSPH) still active and purposeful. For an initiative that has grown long term and with stability, it’s funny to think that it all started with a conflict.

Established in 2018 under the leadership of former Department of Trade and Industry secretary Ramon Lopez, LSPH was an offshoot of the stakeholders consultation on foreign shipping charges and port congestion issues which I convened as an undersecretary of the DTI.

At the outset, we were warned that bringing everyone together would end in open warfare. Shipping lines, port operators, truckers, regulators, actors long practiced in talking past one another, if not talking down.

Yet they came. They argued. And for once, they stayed in the room, together.

From there, DTI Undersecretary May Jean Pacheco organized the LSPH, which was envisioned as a platform to unite government and industry toward one of the country’s most persistent challenges: the high cost and inefficiency of logistics.

Today, with DTI continuing to serve as its convenor and secretariat, LSPH stands as a testament to what sustained collaboration can achieve.

LSPH was created at the time logistics reform had become a national priority. The Philippines had long struggled with fragmented policies, outdated systems, and bottlenecks that pushed logistics costs upward — burdens borne by businesses and consumers alike.

Recognizing that logistics is not merely a support service but the backbone of national competitiveness, LSPH sought to gather all the stakeholders around a single table. Its mandate: identify problems, craft solutions, and push for reforms through a unified advocacy.

In partnership with DTI, LSPH has consistently articulated the need for a more efficient supply chain ecosystem. From pushing for streamlined trucking regulations to advocating for digitalization in logistics processes, to calling for transparency in port and shipping charges, LSPH has been one of the clearest and strongest voices championing reforms. It has helped shape policies by providing the government with industry-grounded insights — something crucial for ensuring that reforms are not only sound on paper but workable in practice.

What makes LSPH particularly noteworthy is the breadth of its membership. Today, the platform is composed of 17 industry associations and 16 partner firms spanning transport, warehousing, shipping, e-commerce, cold chain, and other essential logistics services. This diversity has made LSPH a genuine ecosystem player — one with a 360-degree view of the national logistics landscape. When LSPH speaks, it speaks with the collective experience of businesses that move goods daily across the archipelago.

As the Philippines continues to pursue industrialization and strengthen its manufacturing base, logistics will remain a decisive factor in whether we succeed or fall behind.

The growth of e-commerce, the demands of global value chains, and the expectations of consumers all require a logistics sector that is fast, reliable, and cost-efficient.

The work of LSPH is far from finished. In fact, its role is even more important today, as the country pushes for improvements in supply chain resilience, port operations, multimodal transport, and digital trade facilitation.

Eight years on, LSPH stands as a model of continuity, partnership, and hope. Members still meet and, yes, still argue. But what matters is they still push for fixes, willing to do the hard work of shaping a better ecosystem because they know the stakes are higher if we work in isolation.

So if this sector can come together, so could others.