by Misael | May 9, 2008 | Features
LAUNCHING a missionary roll-on roll-off (RORO) route to link Jagna Bohol to Mambajao Camiguin is not a political gimmick.
Doubting Thomases saying that the Central Nautical Highway, especially the Bohol Camiguin segment was just launched to accommodate President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) and the government RoRo caravan’s one-way trip could now be proven wrong.
This as Asia Marine Transport and Shipping (AMTS) Services put up its Super Shuttle Ferry 1 (SSF1) to serve the route daily starting May 8.
Earlier, critics said the Jagna-Camiguin RoRo route which PGMA and her cabinet tested in a caravan of tour buses and support vehicles is just for show for the route is one up to drain investors of precious fund.
Not for AMTS, which fielded SSF 12 and 8 to load the presidential party on their maiden voyage last week.
In an interview a few minutes before Marine Industry Authority (MARINA) issued the Certificate of Public Convenience to AMTS, Business Development Manager Lowell Elim said it would be a missionary route at first.
He however revealed that they did a study on the profitability prospects of the trips, which he said the market could respond in time.
In fact, he admitted that the company is also getting support from the government, one they count for sustainability as the market picks.
Regular Jagna-Mambajao RoRo and passenger trips leave Jagna at 1 pm daily and sails back to Jagna at 8 am, with fares at P300 per person, reports said.
Shippers with rolling cargo also expect that the trips would lower rates compared to commercial shipping lines.
The Strong Republic Nautical Highway, which was pulled out from the shelved Development Bank of the Philippines projects in 2002, boasts of slashed-transportation rates.
PGMA, while sharing the RoRo story in Cagayan de Oro said “in 2002, during a Cabinet planning conference in Clark, I presented a work program — actually, eight work programs — one of them was a program to reduce transport costs from the food basket of Mindanao to the large consuming market of Luzon.
She said DOTC Secretary Mendoza, then Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo and Philippine Ports Authority head Al Cusi were seeking ways of lowering handling and wharfage costs of farm products from Mindanao to the greater market in Luzon.
She said she then instructed the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to lead in drawing various measures, including financing logistics, storage and port facilities in Mindanao to carry out the RO-RO concept.
President Arroyo then recounted how she started implementing the “obscure” RO-RO plan from a DBP Program with a P20-billion fund portfolio for long-term lending.
In 2003, the Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte to Dumaguete, Negros Oriental route, and the Roxas, Mindoro Oriental to Caticlan, Aklan route was completed and allowed people to enjoy Boracay with just P500 bus ride from Manila compared to the P5T plane fare,” she said.
“So we launched the trip and we baptized what we rolled on — what we traveled on — as the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SR-NH), a 900-kilometer seamless stretch of road and ports that cut travel time by 12 hours,” she added.
Like what is probably an unprofitable Jagna-Camiguin route, the President said the Dapitan-Dumaguete (route), was also unprofitable in the beginning.
Dapitan-Dumaguete however grew with nine trips a day now, she claimed.
Moreover, she added that the Dapitan – Batangas route cut down the travel time to 12 hours and allowed Mindanao products to hit Manila markets faster. (rachiu/PIA)
by Misael | May 8, 2008 | Features
Mapasaligon ang Department of Trade and Industry kon (DTI) sa mga consumedor nga dili mosaka ug magpabillin ang presyo sa mga pamaliton bisan nga gasige og saka ang presyo sa lana.
Kini ang gibutyag ni Kalihim Peter Favila sa DTI.
Matud pa ni Favila, bisan pa sa senemanang pagsaka og 50 sentavos sa presyo sa lana, dili kini maka-apekto sa presyo sa mga nag-unang pamaliton.
Hinuon, ang presyo sa mga materyales o gamit sa pananum, ug ang kasusaban sa panahon sama sa mga bagyo o baha, posibleng maka-apekto pa sa presyo sa mga pamaliton, gibasabot ni Favila.
Ang DTI mopadayan sa pag-monitor sa merkado kon adunay kasuban sa presyo o kon sakto ba ang pagsaka niini, kon ugali mosaka man, apas sumpay ni Favila. (PIA/Bohol)
by Misael | May 7, 2008 | Features
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration in protecting and promoting human rights nationwide is between seven and eight out of a perfect 10 score performance.
This was disclosed by former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Purificacion Quisumbing, when officially ended her constitutionally- mandated seven-year service to the agency.
“Human rights compliance covers civil, economic, cultural, political and other aspects and I think government did well in several of these,” she said
According to Quisumbing, the government moved up the human rights rating scale from a failed grade previously when it abolished the death penalty and passed the juvenile justice law.
She also lauded the Palace for creating the Melo Commission that looked into local killings and for allowing foreign monitoring of the Philippine human rights situation.
Both the armed forces and the police likewise boosted respective efforts to address extra-judicial executions in the country so that the number of such incidents dropped, she continued.
“The government is at least now more aware of the country’s human rights situation and I’m glad authorities are sensitive enough to do something about it,” she said.
Quisumbing, however clarified that her rating at this time can’t be higher as the government posted shortcomings in addressing the country’s human rights situation. She cited in particular the failure of Congress to pass laws aimed at preventing human rights violations. (PIA/Bohol)
by Misael | May 5, 2008 | Features
HUMAN sa pagbukas sa duha pa pantalan alang sa RoRo sa Bohol, gilaraw na usab sa kagamhanan nga palapdan pa ang Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).
Butyag ni Transportation Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista, pagkap-os sa pagsulay sa Central Nautical Highway, buot ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo nga ang iyang kabiling proyekto sumpayan pa gayud sa lain pang agianan: kadtong motadlas ug magsumpay sa duha ka dagkong nautical highways gikan sa kasubangan ngadto na sa kasadpan.
Ang proyekto nga maglakip sa mga dalan, tulay ug mga pantalan nga magsumpay sa Eastern Nautical Highway ngadto sa Western Nautical Highway nagsukip na usab sa mga pantalan sa Getafe ug Ubay sa Bohol.
Dugang ni Bautista, gitumbok na sa kagamhanan ang 15 ka mga proyektong RoRo nga nagkinahanglan ug pag-ugmad, pag-upgrade o pag-ayo, ug kini sugdan gilayon hangtud sa pagtapos sa termino sa Presidente.
Kauban sa mga pantalan sa Bohol ang Caticlan sa Aklan, Dumangas sa Iloilo, San Antonio sa Sorsogon, Esperanza sa Masbate, Daanbantayan sa Cebu, Naval sa Biliran, Toledo sa Cebu, Tabuelan sa Cebu, Bogo sa Cebu, Balud sa Masbate, Taytay sa Palawan, Ajuy sa Iloilo, ug Punta Engaño sa Cebu.
Sa laing bahin, gidugang ni Bautista sa pag-ingon nga ilang ipadeklara nga mga nasudnong dalan ang kadtong masakop sa SRNH. .
Kon matuman, ang nasudnong kahamhanan na maoy mopundo alang sa pagpatukod, pagmintinar ug sa pagpadgan ning mga nahisgutang dalan ug nautical highway. (rachiu/PIA)
by admin | May 2, 2008 | Features
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formally launched the new roll-on/roll-off route linking Jagna-Bohol and Camiguin Island.
The opening of the new route that links the two island provinces—Bohol and Camiguin, stands to boost tourism in the islands known for their ecological-tourism destinations.
Through the Central Nautical Highway (CNH) ro-ro system, tourists visiting the eco-tourist spots in Bohol that include the world-famous Chocolate Hills and the powdery white beaches of Panglao Island and the Loboc river cruise plus the tarsiers, world’s smallest monkey in the municipality of Carmen, can island-jump to the volcanic island of rustic Camiguin.
The President also witnessed the awarding of the certificate of convenience to Asian Marine Shipping for its franchise to operate the Jagna-Mambajao ro-ro route.
The President arrived from Cebu City where the first day of the three-day Central Nautical Highway (CNH) RO-RO caravan had an overnight stop.
Enroute to Jagna Port, the President visited Tubigon port, one of the two ports in Bohol linked to the CNH.
The two ports in Bohol linked to the CNH underwent a P278 million rehabilitation in preparation to linking them to the Strong Republic Nautical Highway third major route—the CNH.
The improvements included the roro ramps, truck holding areas, lighting systems, widening, among others. (PIA/Bohol)
by admin | Apr 29, 2008 | Features
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will formally launch the Roll-On, Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) system linking the ports of Tubigon and Jagna in Bohol province to the Central Nautical Highway (CNH).
The President is scheduled to arrive in Tubigon Tuesday morning to welcome the CNH Ro-Ro Caravan that she will send off at the Bulan Port in Sorsogon and the Cawayan Port in Masbate to formally signal the completion of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).
The event will also formally open the Ro-Ro system between the island provinces of Bohol and Camiguin.
The CNH connects the ports of Pilar and Bulan in Sorsogon to the Balingoan Port in Misamis Oriental, through the Cawagan Port in Masbate, Bogo Port in Cebu, Tubigon and Jagna ports in Bohol and Mambajao and Benoni ports in Camiguin.
The Arroyo administration spent a total of P278 million for the upgrading of the Ro-Ro ramps and the corresponding backup areas, lighting systems at the Tubigon and Jagna ports to better serve vessels cruising to and from Cebu City, Camiguin and Misamis Oriental.
Tagbilaran Ports Operations Manager Rogelio Gambuta said the port of Tubigon can accommodate two Ro-Ro vessels at any given time and can hold a maximum of 15 units of rolling cargoes.
Jagna Port on the other hand is equipped with a 3,000-square meter truck holding area that can hold a total of 35 rolling cargo units.
The SRNH is an integrated set of highway segments and ferry routes and forms the backbone of a nationwide vehicle-accessible transport system, and interconnects 17 provinces and cities throughout the country with the SRNH’s three seaboard trunks—the Western seaboard trunk, the Eastern seaboard trunk and he central seaboard trunk. (PIA/Bohol)
