No work, no pay should be the ro-ro policy

Last Thursday, we attended a public hearing conducted by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) led by Agustin Bengzon, Atty. Gloria Banas, Lilian Javier of Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and Atty. Marietto Enecio of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on the development and privatization of Roll-On, Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) Ports throughout the country. With reforms starting to become common place in this government since President Arroyo decided not to run for President in 2004 so she could concentrate on reforms… one area that’s in dire need of reforms is our country’s Ro-Ro Terminals.

Just to refresh you a bit, in the days of yore, whenever you needed to ship your vehicle to another island, you needed to have your vehicle hoisted on board our ships or vessels, cross to your destination and unload your vehicle into the port and pay everything that comes across your face. By this, I mean, aside from paying for your boat fare, you have to pay for your cargo or vehicle, but before it is loaded unto the vessel, you need to pay for arrastre or handling services, plus you needed to secure an anti-carnapping clearance from the Philippine National Police (PNP). Thus, bringing your vehicle to cross the seven-kilometer Tanon Strait dividing Negros and Cebu Island is not only an expensive proposition, but a very exhaustive, bureaucratic and a hassle-ridden exercise.

Under the Arroyo Administration… we credit her (this was during the short stint of DOTC Secretary Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez) for having the political guts to finally remove that offending "Ancar" permits, where one’s vehicle is considered "stolen" unless the owners have proven its not. Indeed, a few months after the Ancar permits were removed (with the support also of Coast Guard Chief Rueben Lista) people suddenly realized that one of the major barriers in bringing vehicles across to the other islands have been breached and soon, Ro-Ro vessels have become essential and necessary for development.

But problems still abound; hence the DOTC called for such hearings with the 4th one done in Cebu City last week. Mind you, people in Metro Manila aren’t really interested in this industry simply because Ro-Ros benefit the Visayan Islands the most. Mind you, the only Ro-Ro areas in Luzon can be found in the Batangas-Mindoro crossing and I guess one can be had in Cavite to Mariveles as a short cut route. But you just can’t complete the so-called Pan-Philippine Highway or the RP-Japan Friendship Highway, which stretches from Aparri to Davao City passing through Samar and Leyte without using a Ro-Ro vessel to cross the San Bernardino Straits and the Surigao Straits.

Thus, during the DOTC hearing for Ro-Ros, I appealed to the committee echoing many columns we wrote about the problems we encounter during the shipment of our motorcycles when we travel to the other islands. A couple of weeks ago, we just came from a 853-kilometer trek to Samar and Leyte and yes, we still had to pay for arrastre and handling fees when in all honesty, the arrastre people didn’t even touch our motorcycles. Last December, I brought my car to Bohol and yes, I also paid for arrastre and handling fees.

Again, I just can’t understand why we should pay "extortionary" fees to arrastre operators for services they didn’t deliver. Let me point out that we believe in the principle that "there are no free lunches" and everyone should be given their due. But in roll-on, roll-off operations, the arrastre does next to nothing and yet, they are paid hundreds of pesos by innocent but indignant motorists. Why is this so? Surely those arrastre operators didn’t get those nice juicy contracts without "connections," meaning, help from their local congressman, governor or mayor in return for political support… that’s why!

I know that President Arroyo is serious in making travel easy, fun and above all, hassle-free. If and when the DOTC can effect the so-called "No Work, No Pay" formula in our Ro-Ro Ports, believe me, the private sector can immediately see the potential for investments in this industry. So the question is, when should this be done? My only answer is, we wanted this yesterday!