Frustration and chaos await motorists traversing the San Juanico Strait while commodities price increases beset the hapless but limited number of travelers still permitted to cross the 2.1 kilometer bridge above it, local government units in and around the area said on Wednesday.
A brief sense of relief hung over stranded truckers piling up on either side of the 51-year-old San Juanico Bridge when the privately-owned Sta. Clara Shipping Corp. (SCSC) announced the opening of roll-on-roll-off (RORO) ferry services between Basey in Samar and Tacloban in Leyte as a stop-gap measure in the two years that the bridge rehabilitation work is seen to complete.
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) quickly torpedoed the SCSC announcement, saying the Amandayehan Port in Basey, Samar has yet to be certified by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to transport vehicles and people to the Port of Tacloban some 30 minutes away by boat.
More important than that SCSC lacks the permit to add the Basey-to-Tacloban route to its approved services is the fact that the Amandayehan Port is at least a week away from critically needed upgrades to allow the safe transport of people and goods between the points, the PPA said.
Local media reports also claim that the bypass road leading to the port is in a state of disrepair requiring as much government attention as the port facilities themselves.
In any case, provincial officials about an hour or 90 kilometers away in Catbalogan fear the consequent escalation of services and goods prices in the Leyte-Samar area and have declared a state of emergency to help curb inflationary pressures.
The measure is hoped to limit the inflation of logistical expenses resulting from the bridge closure, especially on food and fuel prices given the cost of transporting trucks by ferry from far away Calbayog to Ormoc in Leyte reportedly costs P18,000 one way.
With the San Juanico Bridge still in service, crossing the Matnog in Sorsogon to Allen in Samar by ferry costs only P3,000.
Unofficial reports indicate that Medallon Shipping serving Cebu, Leyte and Mindanao ports plans RORO services at the port of Carigara in Leyte. This could not be independently confirmed but earlier reports claim the Carigara facilities are woefully inadequate for trucker needs as well.
So do facilities in nearby Villaba and even that in Naval in Biliran which has its own problematic Biliran Bridge off limits to heavy vehicles also.
The PPA has advised the trucking public to use the ports pf Baybay, Hilongos, Maasin and Liloan for transport needs beyond Leyte and on to Mindanao. But while the proposed alternates have adequate facilities, shipping costs could prove a disincentive given their distance from jump off points in Samar.
