Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan talks about the preparations being done for the 900-1,000-bed capacity isolation centers for the city’s asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. /Norman Mendoza
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan will appeal to national government agencies urging them to reconsider the implementation of the ban on wooden-hulled boats.
Chan said the plans were made to give tourism players in the city, particularly island-hopping operators, time to recover their losses.
“I will make an appeal to the Marina (Maritime Industry Authority) nga dili usa nato tangtangon nga mga island hopping boats nga kahoy kay anaa pata sa pandemia (not to revoke wooden-hulled boats used for island hoping since we are still in the midst of the pandemic),” Chan said in a statement issued on Saturday, September 12.
“Nalipay man gani mi nga maihabalik na ang atong turismo sa syudad nato karon pero i-phase-out nuon ang mga wooden pumpboat nga pangturista,” he added.
(We were glad the city’s tourism is slowly reopening but it is unfortunate that wooden pump boats catering to tourists will be phased out.)
Chan said he recently received a copy of the memorandum circular from Marina that banned wooden-hulled boats to transport passengers.
RELATED STORY: Marina-7 eyes phaseout of wooden commercial sea vessels plying Lapu-Lapu to Olango route
The Department of Transportation (DOTr), through Marina, stopped the registration of wooden-hulled boats to strengthen the enforcement of such mandate.
A report from the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) published in 2019 quoted DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade saying that the order was made to ensure safer maritime travel.
But Chan said it posed as a threat to their tourism industry, which he tagged as Lapu-Lapu City’s ‘bread and butter’.
“Unya karon, pinaagi sa memorandum sa Marina, makulbaan ang atong mga kaigsuonan og kaldero nga wala pa gani nakalingkawas sa kalisod,” he explained.
(Now, through the memorandum from Marina, our tourism players are worried especially that they are yet to fully recover from their losses.) / ###