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THE
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has transferred
operations of the Dipolog Port, a fishing and
interisland terminal, to local officials, reducing the
responsibilities of the agency while empowering local
government units (LGUs).
PPA
general manager Oscar M. Sevilla said this week that the
agency has already signed an agreement late last month.
Besides assigning the operation, maintenance, and
management of the facility to city officials, the
agreement will also allow the local government to get
its own cargo handler if needed, Sevilla said.
He added
that the volume of the facility was just “minimal” that
PPA, which earns from fees levied on shipments, could
afford to give it to the local officials. However, local
governments are still expected to remit 10 percent of
total port revenues to the PPA as management fee.
Dipolog
port does not fall under the terminals that PPA plans to
upgrade between now and 2010.
According to Sevilla,
Dipolog City
officials also requested control of the port as they
intended to manage the development of the area.
Local
officials, in general, want a degree of control on their
ports as they could use funds generated from these
facilities for development and attract more votes during
elections, a few PPA officials admitted.
Dipolog
is connected to the main part of
Mindanao via the eastern Zamboanga’s road system, some of which
remain unpaved.
Dipolog
aims “to expand its horizon to achieve a broad-based
growth, and be considered an active player in all
commercial and industrial activities in northwestern
Mindanao,” its web site said. “Dipolog therefore looks
into a vision to become a trading hub in Northwestern
Mindanao.”
The web
site also indicated that the port could get the volume
it needs since 90 percent of the wholesalers of the
Province
of Zamboanga del Norte are in the city.
“Most of
the agricultural products of the province are influenced
by the marketing system of Dipolog, the city can be the
seat of industrial development of the province,” the web
site said, adding that its advantage is its geographical
location.
The area
is the nearest point in the Zamboanga Peninsula towards
the major cities and trading centers of Luzon, the
Visayas and the northern coastal cities of
Mindanao. It is now the commercial center of Zamboanga del Norte “where the
support facilities are far more advanced than the
neighboring municipalities and the City of
Dapitan.”
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