Chip
14 Jan 2008

 

 

Mr. Ceralde,

You are barking at the wrong tree. Read between the lines regarding my rebuttal that I addressed to Mr. Carrera. The reason I sarcastically asked him if he’s a ferry boat operator (of course I know he’s not) is because I know for a fact that in the Philippines, there are Filipinos who are in the ferry service and shipbuilding biz, beyond doubt, are in a better position to answer this monohull dilemma. (refer to Mr. Carrera, 1/9/08)

Being in the Philippines all my life, I know for a fact that ferry boats abound in the Visayan waters, and are even locally built, the Aboitiz group, being at the forefront in this industry. I also know for a fact there are codes and seaworthy standards that must be observed before a marine vessel is put to operation.

The point I wanted to address to Mr. Carrera was: We Filipinos back home, are not far behind in this technological know-how, and we know what we are doing.

But there’s one thing I have to agree with Mr. Carrera. The proposed ferry service project is a great idea but I have my reservation as to its economic feasibility. We may not yet have the desired volume of tourists in a given period of time to be able to sustain this kind of endeavor.

Remember, we have typhoon season, that can stretch up to 6 months, and is perfectly bad for business. A thorough research and study on this pricey project is essential before it’s carried out.

Another stumbling block is graft and corruption. Anomalies in this country happen like the tick of the clock. A big project like this means big bucks to line the pockets of the powers-that-be. There must be transparency and accountability, and full disclosure as to how much money is involved because taxpayers’ money will be spent for the start-up-cost or the entire price tag if no private investors are interested.

Damn this monohull issue! Kung saan saan na napunta ang usapan.

Mr. Ceralde, we’re in the same page.

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