THE Talisay city government will seek the help of the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) in implementing the collection of environmental fees on vessels anchoring off the waters of the city.
Councilor Antonio Bacaltos Jr., who heads the City Council’s environmental committee, said that they had already discussed with the city legal office about entering into an agreement with the CPA on the matter.
“Dili man gud me maka deretso og adto sa barko para makapaningil unya kinahanglan pud i-identify (ang barko) (We can’t directly go to the vessel, and we also need help to identify it),” said Bacaltos.
The environmental fee for vessels anchoring Talisay City waters started in 2012. Ship owners need to pay P2,000 for each day a vessel moors at the Talisay waters.
He said that the CPA would have a percentage of the collected fees.
When sought for comment, lawyer Yusop Uckung, legal manager of CPA, said that they are open to discussion with Talisay city government for the public interest.
“Depende unsay (It depends on the) arrangement sa LGU (local government unit) because we have to consider a lot of things like manpower, accounting systems and procedures, and the impact to stakeholders,” Uckung said.