Iloilo City — After more than a week of transportation nightmare, regular trips of motorized wooden passenger boats between the island province of Guimaras and this city resumed yesterday in the aftermath of the Aug. 3 sea tragedy that killed 31 people.
Thousands of passengers are able to take the 15-minute trip along the Iloilo Strait, the body of water separating Guimaras and Iloilo, after Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade lifted the suspension amidst the clamor.
“Ma-ayo lang naka balik guid ang biyahe kay hu-ol sa tanan nga taga Guimaras (It’s good the trips are back. It was such a hassle for the people of Guimaras),” Arthur Castillo, a 61-year-old from Jordan town.
“Ga pasalamat guid kami naka balik na ang biyahe (We are grateful the normal trips are back),” added Jocelyn Gabion, a 59-year-old from Buenavista town.
It came less than 24 hours after Governor Samuel Gumarin appealed to President Duterte to allow the boats locally known as “motorized bancas” to carry passengers between Guimaras and this city.
After Aug. 4, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) only allowed steel-hull ferries and roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ships to sail the Guimaras-Iloilo and vice versa routes.
Despite the alternate transport schemes, Gumarin noted how Guimaras had a “significant and apparent transportation disruption” as it is highly inconvenient and expensive.
For almost 10 days, passengers were forced stand in line for four hours to be able to ride the ferries or RoRo ships while the line stretched for half a kilometer at the port. The fares were more than double of the price of the motorized bancas, which was only R15.
With Tuesday’s resumption, there are new safety rules.
Commodore Allan Dela Vega, PCG commander for Western Visayas region, said that boats can only sail during fair weather, only allow 75 percent of its capacity and have passengers wear life vests at all times.
There’s also a new rule that the tarpaulin, which serves as roofing material of the boat, must be rolled up and are exposed directly to the harsh sunlight. (Tara Yap)