JORDAN , Guimaras – Wooden-hulled motorboats plying the Guimaras-Iloilo route and vice versa can still operate until December of this year.
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) granted the request of the Jordan Motorbanca Cooperative (JMBC) to extend the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) of wooden-hulled vessels traversing the route in the Iloilo Strait.
MARINA Region 6 director Jose Venancio Vero Jr. said the CPC of JMBC has been extended until Dec. 31, 2020.
The CPC of JMBC expired on Sept. 28 and this signaled the beginning of the phaseout of wooden-hulled vessels based on the transition plan developed by the organization after the Aug. 3, 2019 tragedy in the Iloilo Strait that drowned 31 people.
In its request for a CPC extension, JMBC cited the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic which caused the delayed delivery of their procured fiber glass vessels.
Vero acknowledged that the disruption of the operation of motorboats would also disrupt the economic activities in Guimaras.
This would also adversely affect the livelihood of the owners and crews of the motorboats – contrary to the aim of the government to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, he stressed.
Vero added that the presence of other vessels such as the roll on, roll off is not sufficient to cater the needs of the Guimarasnons.
Delivery and transport of essential goods will be paralyzed once the operation of the wooden-hulled vessels is halted, according to MARINA.
The agency previously granted the request of the Buenavista Motorbanca Owners and Sailors Association (BAMOSA) to extend their CPC until December 2020.
The Aug. 3, 2019 sea tragedy where 31 lives perished pushed the Department of Transportation to order the modernization of the sea transport in Guimaras./PN
