Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Port personnel on call during holiday
INSTEAD of going on vacation in observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, Cebu Port Authority (CPA) officials and personnel will report to work to man the DOTC help desks.
CPA General Manager Angelo Verdan said they are deploying additional 40 blue guards to secure the ports and six buses to transport passengers from terminals to the vessels and vice versa.
Verdan said that tomorrow, a special non-working holiday, all the officials and personnel of the operations division will report to their respective assignments, while the office staff will man the help desks.
They will be joined by representatives from the Maritime Industry Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, PNP Maritime Group and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
These offices are members of the Regional Management Council (RMC), an organization of of agencies under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
The other DOTC offices are Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB); Air Transportation Office (ATO) and Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).
Verdan said the help desks were put up at the passenger terminals at Pier 1, Pier 3 and Berthing Area 14 and at the ports in Toledo City; the towns of Argao and San Remigio; and the islands of Camotes and Bantayan.
Marina 7 Director and RMC Chairman Glenn Cabañez said that the Help Desks at Cebu South Bus Terminal and North Bus Terminal will be manned by LTO, LTFRB, NTC and bus companies. The help desk at the Mactan airport will be manned by ATO, MCIAA and NTC, to be supported by personnel of airline companies.
Chester Cokaliong, president and general manager of Cokaliong Shipping Lines and president of the Visayan Association of Ferryboat and Coastwise Service Operators, said they were told to send staff in every help desk.
Zero crime rate
Senior Supt. Agustin Lloveras, PNP Maritime 7 director, said they will not allow suspected criminal elements to enter the ports so they can achieve a zero crime rate during the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Lloveras said that because their area of responsibility is the port, the Cebu City Police Office may deploy its own personnel outside the port gates where most of the criminals are waiting for opportunities. (EOB)
