SAN JOSE De BUENAVISTA, Antique –- The port here is not ready to accommodate Roll on-Roll off (RoRo) vessels transporting delegates for the April 23-29 Palarong Pambansa games.
Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao said the port could not accommodate RoRo vessels because of its shallow berthing area.
The governor expressed disgust that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) did not inform her office about the need to upgrade the port.
Cadiao said the provincial government has been sending Antique board member Fernando Corvera and even San Jose de Buenavista Mayor Elmer Untaran to coordinate with the PPA as part of the Palaro preparations.
”The regions in Mindanao have been asking me if they could transport their athletes through this port,” the governor said.
She said that it was only lately when a sonar inspection was conducted that they discovered that RoRo vessels, such as the St. Francis of Asisi, could not dock at the port.
”I believe the port modernization is important, it being the gateway to Antique,”Cadiao said.
The governor said she will call the attention of the PPA on the matter.
Last Friday, Cadiao, during the coordination meeting with the Department of Education regional office, mentioned the plan of receiving the athletes who will come on chartered RoRo vessels at the San Jose Port with a grand “Ati-atihan” performance.
The San Jose Port used to accommodate shipping vessels to and from Cuyo Island, but this has stopped several years ago because of the reported poor maintenance of the port, which only serves now as anchorage for smaller fishing boats. PNA – northboundasia.com