Nautical Highway: Did they dupe the President?

There’s always the good news and the bad news. First the good news. President Arroyo is up in the Pulse Asia survey over opposition candidate Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ). Now if you ask me, that’s a very comfortable lead. Now the bad news, people here want to know if President Arroyo is still in control of the government and that’s due to the letter we are publishing below about her Nautical Highway program. Please read on.

The local headlines in Cebu last week was about how disappointed President Arroyo was with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the still unfinished Naga-Uling road. That only shows to you that government bureaucrats move as fast as snails, which is just one of the reasons why we need real reforms now. These bureaucrats openly defy their President and with their incompetence, it makes the President herself look incompetent.

The last (elections of 1986) time then President Ferdinand Marcos came to Cebu, he held a political rally for the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) at the Cebu Coliseum and one of the pronouncements he made was that, the toll for the Mactan Bridge would be removed right away. I listened to that speech on the radio and I was driving to Mactan as his entourage made his way back to the Mactan Airbase and overtook us. When we reached the toll booth, the gatekeeper demanded payment and we told her that the President already removed the tolls and she said that she didn’t get any order from the President. It was then that I knew that President Marcos had lost control of the country.

Well, has President Arroyo also lost control of this country? Here’s a very interesting incident that may just tend to show that the President can no longer control her people. We’ve written about the problems of the Cebu Port Authority (CPA). This resulted in letters emailed to me, which we are printing.

Here’s a letter from Mr. Ed Gonzales of the Easyriders Cebu, Inc.

"Dear Mr. Martinez; We have just arrived from a motorcycle ride from Cebu to Davao and General Santos, both to tour Mindanao and to promote the 10th annual motorcycle convention on March 26-28, 2004. We expect over 1000 motorcycle enthusiasts to converge in Cebu from all over the country.

Our recent trip, wherein we had to use RoRo ferry services to and from Cagayan de Oro shows that our President Arroyo has been duped once again into personally promoting the "Nautical Highway" and all the benefits it supposedly offers the riding public. The "Nautical Highway" is a misnomer created by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and supposedly supported by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). However, nothing has changed since, and vehicle freight rates continue based on cubic meters while "handling fees" are at their highest ever!

As a shipowner, I can sympathize with the shipping freight rates because these are all sensitive to fuel costs, dry-docking costs and the dollar exchange rates for spare parts – all without any government subsidies like that availed of by the domestic airline industry. "Handling fees" for RoRo cargo is again a misnomer as NO WORK IS PERFORMED by anyone. As long as PPA and CPA gets their 10 - 14 percent share of this, it will be a wonder when this "handling fee" will ever be eliminated.

For your information, we took 22 big motorcycles, one Ford Expedition and one bike trailer and the total "handling fees" embarking and debarking to/from Cagayan de Oro amounted to P10,604.98, FOR DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! For your reference I am enclosing copies of the receipts, which show the following:

Handling Fees

Cebu – Handling, P2,179.79; Wharfage, P480; Cagayan – Handling, P1,576.86; Wharfage, P544.74; Cagayan (to Cebu) – Handling, P1,692.25; Wharfage, P456.35; Cebu – Handling, P3,065; Wharfage, P610 = TOTAL P10,604.98

You will please note that on the four occasions, for the same vehicles, the rates are not the same. This is outrageous and a selfish policy that discourages domestic tourism by the riding public. What then is President Arroyo promoting when it is only the port contractors benefiting from this extortion? This letter may find its way to the President’s office, but in the meantime, as a fellow bike enthusiast, please see what you can do about this injustice! With thanks… Ed Gonzales"

I’ve heard complaints from Mr. Tet Gambito saying that this wasn’t happening at all… some letters I printed, but I’ve always preferred a "first hand" experience and yes, it came from our very own motorcycle club. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go with the guys as I had to leave for Qatar, but yes, it all just came down to one thing… that the vaunted "Nautical Highway" complete with all those television advertisements and posters showing the President’s photo is all hype or a mere political propaganda!

Yes, we commended the President for removing the very offensive ANCAR (Anti-Carnapping) permits, but this was supposed to have been followed up with the removal of the "handling fees" because as Ed Gonzales and this writer have said so many times… is highly "Extortionary" because these port contractors have virtual monopoly of the ports and exact fees with the help of the government even if there is no work involved. Indeed RoRo vessels by their design eliminate handling work… so why are these port contractors still allowed to fleece the riding public? At this point, we demand from no less than President Arroyo a full investigation as to why her "Nautical Highway" has merely become a political gimmick? I personally believe that heads should roll simply for not obeying the President’s executive orders on this program.