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Friday July 6, 2:35 PM
Arroyo Cites Nautical Highway And Roll-on, Roll-Off Ports SystemMANILA, July 6 Asia Pulse - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cited Thursday the importance of the administration's Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) and Roll-on, Roll-off (RoRo) Ports system in spurring interisland farm trade, improving distribution of basic goods, reducing travel time and transportation costs, and promoting domestic tourism. The President made the assessment in a roundtable discussion yesterday morning with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary Ma. Elena Bautista, Land Transport Organization of the Philippines president Alberto Suansing and Philippine Harbour Ferry and Port Services president Christopher Pastrana, the main proponents and users of the SRNH and RoRo system.
Through the SRNH-RoRo system, the delivery of basic goods and farm produce such as vegetables and livestock is made more easy, economical and efficient as travel time to and from destinations as well as transportation costs are considerably reduced. During the roundtable discussion in Philippine Presidential Palace Malacanang, the President explained that the SNRH-RoRo system is a better and improved version of the original RoRo system envisioned by the former Marcos administration to cut travel time between Luzon and the Visayas and Mindanao. The President noted that the Marcos-initiated Maharlika Highway was also a combination of roads and ports which stretched from Aparri, Cagayan in the north to Davao City in the south. From Aparri, travellers would take the Maharlika Highway all the way down to Matnog in Sorsogon, take a ferry to Allen in Northern Samar, cross the San Juanico Bridge to the tip of Southern Leyte. From Southern Leyte, the President said, passengers take a ferry for Surigao and proceed to Davao City by land route. With the completion of the SRNH, travellers and farm produce from the north going to the south and vice versa can take two available routes - the Western Highway and the Central Highway. In the Western Highway portion of the SRNH, instead of passing through the Bicol provinces, travellers and produce take a "short cut" to the Batangas port, take a RoRo to Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, drive by land until they reach Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, take another RoRo to Caticlan, another road trip to Iloilo, RoRo to Bacolod City, road trip to Dumaguete City, and finally take the last RoRo to Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte. The President said that travel time through the Western Highway portion is 17 hours shorter compared with the time consumed in traversing the Maharlika Highway for the same destination. The Central Highway, on the other hand, starts from Cagayan de Oro City to Balingoan, Misamis Oriental to Camiguin Island, Bohol to Cebu, Masbate and Camarines Sur towards Luzon. The Central Highway of the SRNH is a network of "A-1" roads and ferries which has cut down considerably travel time and spoilage of goods being distributed to the different parts of the country. The President pointed out that aside from the convenience of shorter travel times offered to travelers with the construction of these two routes of the SRNH, spoilage of farm produce has been lessened which in turn has translated to larger income for farmers. She also said that the increase of visitors to the various tourist spots around the country is also a by-product of the SRNH. She noted that local and foreign tourist have been enticed to take the "scenic" route on their way to the country's numerous tourists destinations. The President said the SRNH is a good example of where increased revenue collections from the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) Law have gone to good use. (PNA)
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