An aerial view of the Maya Ro-Ro port in Daanbantayan town, northern Cebu. | Contributed Photo/Municipality of Daanbantayan
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Despite the economic challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic this year, residents of Daanbantayan are hoping for economic opportunities to sprout as the Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) port in Barangay Maya gets completed and is set to operate.
At midnight on Saturday, June 13, the maiden voyage of Lite Ferry 28, a cargo and passenger vessel, kicked off from the Maya Ro-Ro Port heading to Calbayog City in Samar province
The Maya Ro-Ro port, which is seen to become a gateway to more economic activity in the town, located at the northernmost tip of Cebu island, was inaugurated last June 5.
While the town is about 129 kilometers north of Cebu City, or about four hours of bus ride from the center of trade in the province, Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura told CDN Digital that the new access to the town brought by the port may stir economic prospects for the town, especially when tourism activities would be allowed to resume and travel restrictions would be relaxed.
“Hopefully mo-domino siya for economic opportunities, especially sa location sa Daanbanatayan nga naa gyud sa tumoy sa norte… Hopefully, this will be the port that will help decongest the port of Cebu City,” Shimura added.
(Hopefully, this will domino for economic opportunities, especially since the location of Daanbantayan is at the northern tip of Cebu … Hopefully, this will be the port that will help decongest the port of Cebu City.)
The mayor also said that they were still looking into ways to improve the port so it could cater to more vessels.
Prior to Saturday’s maiden voyage, Shimura said the Maya Ro-Ro port only catered to pump boats that ferried residents and tourists to Malapascua Island, one of the beach destinations in the town.
Based on a June 8, 2020-letter from the shipping company to the Office of the Mayor, the Maya to Calbayog trips are scheduled to depart Cebu every Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Just this January, the port also started to cater to pump boat trips from the town of Esperanza in the neighboring province of Masbate.
Because of the Daanbantayan’s geographical location, Shimura said it might be feasible to also open trips for other neighboring provinces in the Visayas, such as those in Eastern Visayas, and for areas in Luzon such as Masbate and even Manila./dbs