2GO won’t accept payment for use of quarantine ships

MANILA, Philippines — Logistics firm 2GO will not accept the P35 million the government intends to pay for using two passenger vessels as quarantine ships.

Businessman Dennis Uy, who chairs the 2GO Group Inc., said the amount was an offer made by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and that he had no plans of accepting it.

“As chairman of 2GO, I have conferred with other shareholders and have given explicit instructions to waive the P35-million expected payment from the government and, if necessary, make good the said amount out of my own funds to cover for the expected expenses to operate the said ships,” Uy said in a statement late Wednesday.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Wednesday disclosed that the use of two 2GO passenger vessels would cost the government P35 million and that the rental fee is already cheap if computed on the basis of bed space and use.

“To set the record straight, the actual cost to operate the two vessels as quarantine facilities is at P260 million. But this was intended to be a donation. Even if the government offers to pay the P35 million, we in 2GO, in good conscience, have no intentions of accepting their offer,” Uy said.

The DOTr expressed its gratitude to the 2GO Group for waiving the rental fees, adding that no payment has been made yet.

It noted that the amount would have been for the vessels’ operating expenditures such as fuel, electricity, water, maintenance, supplies and actual salaries of manpower of the crew and hotel staff to effectively run the ship, and equating it with bed space usage.

“This is a most welcome development. We take pride in this shared endeavor of the DOTr and 2GO, both of which recognized the urgency to put up the quarantine ships to augment the need for quarantine facilities,” it said in a statement yesterday.

It also clarified that Tugade did not meet, talk and discuss the payment of rentals directly with Uy as the “negotiations were made through the proper channels.”

2GO earlier said it provided its passenger vessels to be used as quarantine facilities in response to Tugade’s call for private passenger ships to be used as quarantine facilities.

It gave M/V St. Anthony de Padua and M/V St. Pope John Paul II, currently docked at Manila’s Pier 15 at the South Harbor, to serve as transition shelters for two months. Aside from the accommodations, onboard facilities and retail stores are made available in the vessels to ensure the comfort and convenience of those in quarantine.