Friday, July 04, 2008 ‘Speed up Sulpicio probe’ By Debra M. Estero and Nancy cudis Of Sun.Star Cebu
THE local chamber of commerce has appealed to the transportation and communication secretary to hasten the investigation on the sinking of mv Princess of the Stars and to consider the hold order the government has implemented against Sulpicio Lines Inc.
Carlito Fruelda, vice president for external affairs of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said the CCCI sent a formal letter to Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza last Monday.
He said it was made in consideration of Cebu’s business community and industries, which are dependent on sea transportation.
The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) had suspended the suspension of all passenger and cargo vessels of Sulpicio Lines, pending the completion of the investigation on the sinking of mv Princes of the Stars. The order, though, was lifted for Sulpicio’s cargo vessels.
In a phone interview last Tuesday, Roland de Leon, Sulpicio Lines ndustrial relations officer, said all 11 cargo vessels of the company are already operating.
Food exporters
Several food exporters in Cebu have raised their concerns about the grounding of Sulpicio ships.
At least four of them, including Profood International and Central Seafoods, Inc., brought their worries yesterday to Nelson Bascones, president of the Association of Food Industry Manufacturers and Exporters (Afime).
Bascones also reported the food exporters’ concern to the Confederation of Philippine Exporters (Philexport)-Cebu.
Several members of the Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines (Comddap), which is holding a three-day expo in Cebu, have also been affected by the hold order against Sulpicio Lines.
Juan G. Chua, Comddap director and president of Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI), said shipping of exhibit items and equipment of some exhibitors, including WSI, have been delayed because of the hold order.
Delayed shipments
“We at WSI had to switch shipping companies so our cargo did not arrive on time,” he said. He added that as its shipment is expected to arrive yesterday evening yet, WSI had to set up temporary exhibit materials for the opening of Comddap 2008.
Comddap 2008 opened at 10 a.m. yesterday at SM City Trade Hall.
But for Wesley Ngo of Astech Pengson Distributors Inc., shipment delays would have been a better consequence. A 24-foot container carrying office equipment and computer accessories of Astech Pengson sank with the m/v Princes of the Stars.
He told Sun.Star Cebu that the lost items, which were supposed to be displayed at Comddap 2008, were worth more than P1 million.
“We had to make another shipment with another shipping company for the expo,” he said.
Bascones, in a phone interview, said Afime wants to inform Marina that the food export industry in Cebu suffered because of the hold order.
“If there are just enough vessels, then there will be no problem. But the present existing cargo ships cannot accommodate the volume of our shipment that includes fruits, vegetables, livestock and meat (which have to be shipped abroad),” said Bascones of Central Seafoods Inc.
He said Profood International owner Justin Uy is among those who have been worried about the grounding of Sulpicio ships, a development that affects the food company’s products. Uy told Bascones that other food exporters share the same anxiety.
CCCI’s Fruelda said Sulpicio Lines handles about 40 percent of shipments from the port of Cebu to Manila and other parts in Mindanao.
“(Some businesses) depend on the shipment of its materials from Manila to continue operations,” he said.
He cited as an example the carageenan industry as one of the affected sectors since most of its raw materials come from Manila.
“You can just imagine what will happen if businesses are denied of the regular supply due to the hold order,” Fruelda said.
Although CCCI has not yet received any formal feedback from Mendoza, Fruelda said the chamber learned that the cargo operations of the shipping company were already allowed to resume.
Fruelda also pointed out that the take over Sulpicio should only be a “last option” of the government “after the investigation is completed.”
“It is scary for business people to suffer a tragedy and (for the business) to be taken over,” he said.
