Monday, July 21, 2008 Palace: Sulpicio ban never tackled in meetings
PRESS Secretary Jesus Dureza said Friday that concerns raised by local traders for the lifting of the ban on Sulpicio Lines were never tackled in the daily meetings in Malacañang.
"We never heard of any concern. We never discussed this in Malacañang," said Dureza, who presided the meeting on food security of the Northern Mindanao development council last Friday.
Arsenio Sebastian, co-chair of the regional council, said local traders wanted Malacañang to lift the ban on the entire fleet of Sulpicio's RoRo passenger and cargo ships and allow it to resume operations.
"Local traders are complaining about delays of their shipments going to and coming from Manila. There is not enough bottoms to handle all of the cargo," Sebastian said.
Sulpicio Lines handles 40 percent of cargo traffic from Manila to Visayas and Mindanao. About 70 percent of its cargo operations are carried out by its passenger vessels.
The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) lifted the ban on Sulpicio's 11 cargo ships early this month but local traders wanted all of its fleet to sail.
Local business leader Frank Rolida told Mayor Constantino Jaraula that they are concerned about their inventories on rice, meat, poultry, fish, milk, fruits and vegetables.
"These are perishable items and can easily rot," Rolida said.
Rodolfo Meñes, president of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. (Oro Chamber), said the shortage of ships to carry these cargoes means higher freight costs as traders look for ways to move their products.
"Any delay means millions of pesos in losses for traders", Meñes said.
It is not only traders from Cagayan de Oro who are complaining as business groups from Visayas also filed a resolution asking Malacañang to allow Sulpicio passenger ships to operate minus the passengers.
"Without trivializing this marine tragedy and prejudging the outcome of the ongoing investigations, we feel that the lack of marine vessels to move the manufactured goods and agricultural products can be addressed should Sulpicio be allowed to operate its passenger vessels to carry cargo only," the groups said.
The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Lapu-Lapu Fil-Chinese Chamber and the Central Eastern Visayas Distributors Association said that Cebu depends on other regions for its supply of manufacturing goods and products.
Dureza said this proposal will have to be studied carefully since allowing the Sulpicio Lines to operate only two months after the tragic sinking of MV Princess of the Stars will be "a very unpopular decision."
"Government has to balance the need for justice and the traders. We have to weigh these things," he said.
