The Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) is asking the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to allow a barge trip to Mindanao via the Tambobo Port in Siaton town, in response to the San Juanico Bridge repair crisis.
NOCCI president Edward Du said they are strongly supporting the motion for reconsideration filed by E-Motion Logistics Services with the DOTr after its application for a special permit for the proposed route was denied by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
“It is sad to note that in this state of calamity due to the San Juanico Bridge repair, the Marina has failed to see the urgency of easing the application requirements for the MV Ocean 6 LTC vessel to sail from Siaton to Dapitan City (in Mindanao),” Du told the Philippine News Agency July 2.
The Marina in Region 7 denied the application for a special permit for the Certificate of Public Convenience, noting that some requirements were unmet, including that Ocean 6 is a glamping vessel that has to be converted into a cargo liner.
The Siaton-Dapitan and vice versa route was eyed last month as an alternative for stranded trucks exceeding the three-ton weight limit amid the San Juanico Bridge’s ongoing rehabilitation.
Du said the shipping company filed the motion for reconsideration last week, with an attached letter of endorsement from the NOCCI, addressed to DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon, whose answer they are expecting this week.
“We are hoping for a positive answer from the DOTr. But if the agency will uphold the Marina decision disallowing the Siaton-Dapitan route, we will go further and seek the intervention of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the matter,” he added.
Du noted the strategic importance of the Siaton-Dapitan route, saying that it will decongest the trucks that have been diverted to the Amendayahan roll-on, roll-off port.
It will also ease traffic in capital Dumaguete and nearby areas where some of the trucks en route to Mindanao are awaiting the next available departing barge.
E-Motion Logistics Services said in its motion that if a permit is granted, it will fully adhere to and will be compliant with Marina’s safety and seaworthiness standards, Philippine Coast Guard inspections, and standard crew safety and emergency protocols. ||
