Ship operators under fire for refusing to give relief discounts

Residents of typhoon-affected towns in northern Cebu have launched a signature campaign against two shipping companies serving the Bantayan Island route to denounce them for their alleged refusal to grant discounts on relief shipments.

According to Fr. Isidrito Ducay, parish priest of Sto. Niño church in Sta. Fe town, the petition signing has reached the neighboring towns of Bantayan and Madridejos.

He identified the subject of their lobby as Island Shipping Lines while the identity of the other liner is being withheld pending their comment on the issue.

The petition is addressed to Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina). The petitioners want the agency to review the operation of the two firms.

Alex Tan, owner of Island Shipping Co. cried foul over accusations that they were being “un-Christian” for refusing to deliver relief goods for free or at a discount, saying they were the first to deliver relief goods to northern Cebu towns for free.

Fr. Ducay said more than 500 of his parishioners have already signed the petition which they forwarded to the Sta. Fe municipal council.

He said Msgr. Boboy Romanillos also started the signature campaign during his Mass yesterday,

Ducay also planned to initiate the signature campaign in the Madridejos town parish this week.

Ducay said he referred the issue to the parish pastoral council after several people and groups complained to him about the two shipping firms which ply the Hagyana San Remigio to Santa Fe Bantayan island route.

Ducay said a group that wanted to ferry two trucks worth of relief goods to the island were told by one of the companies to pay P2,500 per truck.

As a result, the group decided to transport just one truck. The second truck was rerouted to Daanbantayan town. When the group went back to mainland Cebu, their truck was again charged P2,500, Ducay claimed.

Ducay said members of the Order of Malta from Manila with some foreign members, also brought in four container vans of relief goods to the island and they were asked to pay in full late last Saturday.

Tan said his company distributed relief goods to three towns of Bantayan and San Remigio town for the first few days and then gave a 20 percent discount on succeeding deliveries.

He said the group of actor Robin Padilla can prove that they ferried the their relief goods for free in the first week after supertyphoon Yolanda hit northern Cebu.

Tan said the second delivery of Padilla’s group was given a 20 percent discount.

He said those who complained against the company may not have coordinated with their Cebu City office.

“It’s painful that they called me and my company un-Christian because that’s not true,” Tan said.

He said there are groups who seek discounts or freebies from their office even if they were carrying commercial cargo.

Tan said 60 percent of their gross income goes to pay for fuel while the remaining 40 percent goes to salaries, food and the maintenance of the vessels. He said the national government didn’t even subsidize their fuel expenses.

“I didn’t set up my shipping company for charity, that’s a business. But I will give discounts so I can help even if I don’t earn anything back,” Tan said.

Tan said he’s willing to undergo investigation by the Cebu provincial government and the Marina and added that Msgr. Ducay may have received the wrong information from the petitioners.