Passengers cry foul over stiff hike in domestic ship fare

SHIP passengers are calling for help from the leadership of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to pay attention to the “exorbitant” increase in fares implemented by domestic shipping companies.

This is the complaint of passengers passing through the Batangas Port, especially those going to the province of Oriental Mindoro this holiday season.

It was learned that there were passengers who were unable to board a ship due to the stiff fare hikes implemented by domestic ship carriers, allegedly without prior public advisory.

They complained that from P468, the going rate per passenger is now at P528 for a 12.82 percent increase implemented by ‘Montenegro Shipping’ while passengers boarding ‘Starlite Shipping’ are now paying P530 per passenger from the previous P450 per passenger for an increase of 17.77 percent.

The highest fare was recorded on the ‘FasCat’ (fast craft) ship allegedly owned by former Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Christopher ‘Chet’ Pastrana, which increased from P420 to P542 or a 29.05 percent increase in fares for the Calapan City route.

Passengers claimed that despite their complaints, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, including DOTr undersecretary for maritime sector Elmer Sarmiento and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Administrator Hernani Fabia, are yet to act on the issue even as the holiday season continues to advance.

“It is not just train, jeepney and bus passengers who are having trouble with high fares. We also have many ship passengers who are being abused by shipping lines so it is only right that the government should also look into our plight,” the passengers told the media.

Transport cost for merchandise goods being transported from the provinces to Metro Manila and nearby provinces in mainland Southern Tagalog are also affected by the rate increase thus aggravating the country’s inflation rate, they noted.

The present situation, they averred, runs contrary to the order of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., for the DOTr and the MARINA to lower the cost of inter-island travel in the country.