THE PANTAO REGIONAL PORT:
AN ADVOCACY FOR DEVELOPMENT
One day in March 1996, then Agrarian Reform Secretary Ernesto Garilao visited Legazpi City and talked about, yes, agrarian reform. I asked him to draw an economic portrait of Bikol set against the country's development thrusts. Candidly and matter-of-factly, he said: 54% of the Bikol population live below the poverty line.
Fifty-four percent?
The revelation has never ceased to amaze, and jolt, me.
It could not be that the regional leadership, if there is any, is unaware of this sad state of Bikol economic affairs. Thus, at the Regional Development Council (RDC) they talk about how to prop up an economic corridor that supposedly makes for a growth area in the region but which in reality is no more than a stretch of Maharlika Highway from Legazpi City to Naga City. Talk and confer. And more of those, of late. The corridor remains to be a highway: tenuous and risky to traffic in most parts.
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| MARKETING PANTAO. Now Congressman, Dr. Gonzalez (center) wants the best that can be made out of the Pantao Port. |
Tourism has also been talked about as an efficient key for opening doors to regional prosperity or at least poverty alleviation. At one point, in 1994, tourism was declared as the national flagship program in Bikol. Over half a decade has passed, tourism remains to be a program with no flag neither with a ship. Worse, not even a captain.
Clearly, Bikol is in dire need of an expansive but comprehensive, indigenous but common enough resource on which a program for prosperity can be anchored. This resource must be something than can invite domestic and foreign capital.
In 1996, this writer had the opportunity to listen and go over the studies of Ligao City Mayor Fernando V. Gonzalez on regional development. He premised that regional development can be propelled more conveniently, more speedily if only a regional port at the Pantao Harbor can be developed with equal convenience and equal speed.
His discussions had it that putting up a modern-enough port at the said harbor can deflate the worrisome 54%-below-poverty-line-Garilao stinger.
WHY A PORT FOR DEVELOPMENT?
Trade and commerce are the lynchpins in the arch of economic development. And they can come by land, by rail, by air, and by sea.
Bikol is blessed with all these by-ways of development. Unfortunately, land and air travel have Manila as sole arrival/departure area. Unfortunately still, over land, trade and commerce often refuse to take the backbreaking overnight right . . . 600 or so kilometers of asphalted/cemented and for still some parts, what pass for a road that snake through mountains and by ravines, and on bridges that have developed the nasty habit of falling into wide rivers once in a rainy season . . . Bikol-Manila, Manila-Bikol.
Air travel, on the other hand, cannot do anything about Bikol's fickle weather not mentioning its stratospheric costs. And don't talk about the railway system.
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| The Pantao Port (Raffi Banzuela/8-9-13) |
And the sea? The sea rides on its waves.
For decades, Bikol had nothing to do with backdoor neighbors in the Visayas and Mindanao. Of course, except for the occasional launch loads of copra from Samar, the cement and beer trumping from Mindanao and Cebu.
Mayor Gonzalez rightly notes that movement of cargo in the Philippines is comprised largely of marine transportation. If there is cargo, there is trade, there is commerce.
"Bikol enjoys the unique geographical advantage of being part of Luzon as well as in close proximity to the Visayas and Northern Mindanao. However, for lack of properly situated ports, Bikol is generally by-passed by regular commercial inter-island traffic. Because current trading and commercial capabilities in Bikol are limited to costly land transportation, the solution to the current distribution problems lies in developing a regional port within close proximity to regular inter-island sea lanes," said Gonzalez.
But doesn't Bikol have five existing ports in the mainland?
Indeed, there are three major commercial ports: Legazpi and Tabaco in Albay, and Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte. Add to these Pasacao in Camarines Sur and Bulan in Sorsogon.
But all these ports, except Pasacao and Bulan, are in the east coast facing the roaring open Pacific Ocean. . . out of the country's inter-island shipping lanes. Result: There are no regular port calls for merchant and passenger traffic. Meaning? Meaning, trade and commerce which call are perhaps of the adventurous kind, whose fate lies in the winds.
Gonzalez' study proposes that the presence of properly positioned regional port is crucial to Bikol's economy as it would give access to regular inter-island shipping.
He believes that once the infrastructure is in place, Bikol will become a regular port of call by inter-island vessels and thus provide the necessary links to the large markets that lie in Luzon, Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.
PANTAO: FROM THE EDGE
TO THE CENTER OF CIVILIZATION
Pantao is a very rural coastal barangay in the town of Libon. From the town's poblacion, 25 kilometers of macadam and rough road, one can get there in about two hours. A little more when it gets muddy. That was way back in 1996. Get it cemented and perhaps thirty minutes will be what it may take to get there.
The forbidding trip can be the reason why Pantao has for decades lulled into its bounty of sand, sun, and beautiful sea all by its lonesome, so that one local writer even called it a place "at the edge of civilization." Pantao has often been last in a place-to-visit list. Even personnel of government line agencies would find excuses to defer an official visit to it.
Pantao has some 10,000 kindred inhabitants by the latest count (i.e., as of date this story was written). Rather big for a barangay.
How this place's resources and potentials have escaped the discernment of development planners--local, provincial, regional, national--remains for the curious to unravel. But apparently the potentials of the place did not escape the attention of the ancient Juan de Salcedo, that Spanish explorer. In fact, the historic Santiago de Libon was noted to be one of the first villas set up in the country. Libon used to be Santiago de Libon. How else did Salcedo go to Libon but via Pantao and the river Biong. One more "small" historical item that has not even passed for a trivia, was an "astillero," which built or repaired big galleons, located in this unassuming barangay. Barangay elders have much to tell about "Kinalayo," an improvised parola on top a plateau along the Pantao Coast. (On galleon building in Pantao, I have written BIKOL IN THE GALLEON TIMES.)
Time forgot Pantao.
But not Mayor Gonzalez. He wrote: "Conveniently located in the center of the western coastline of the Bikol Peninsula, the Pantao Harbor is the most desirable site for the development of the Regional Port. This harbor meets all the indispensable and important criteria needed for successful operation of the Regional Port. It meets, almost in its totality, the indispensable and important parameters required."
Such as?
Such as its deep, protected and all-weather harbor capable of accommodating all shipping vessels; it is within close proximity to regular shipping lanes; it is within reach of the Maharlika Highway, with an existing road which would only require upgrading to heavy commercial capacities, no need to secure right-of-way; the land is suitable for development of the port complex and supporting structures; it is located in the middle of the Bikol Peninsula and would thus form an effective original distribution site for the rest of Bikol.
Gonzalez' study point out that for the port's macro-economic purposes, a minimum of start-up requirements can be studied first, and thoroughly.
He maintains that a minimum 250-linear meter wharf or pier length with roll-on and roll-off (ro-ro) capabilities to accommodate vessels of 10,000 DWTs and with depths of 30 feet can jump-start the project. Berth designs must be able to sustain loads of up to forty tons.
For the efficient cargo loading and unloading and for the fast turn-around of vessels, the facility should have a ten-meter apron where goods can be landed to and from dock or vessel. Two warehouses running along the length of the berth of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 square meters of floor area will be of great help. Back it up with a 3,000-square meter storage for construction materials, containers, machineries, and others not requiring covered storage then provide it with an administration building complemented with modern telecommunications facilities, and you have something that can be called a port complex.
How much will all that take?
Mayor Gonzalez estimates that P500M can already dramatically change Pantao's outlook, it will provide Bikol with those elusive trigger points for prosperity.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OTHER PORTS?
Will the "Pantao Regional Port" ruin the Legazpi, Tabaco, and Jose Panganiban ports?
No!, emphatically assures Gonzalez.
"These ports can continue to operate under the present set-up. Their cargo handling capabilities are sufficient to meet the present day requirements. But it will do well for Tabaco Port to install a ro-ro capability in conjunction with the Virac Port. The devevelopment of the Infanta, Quezon Port Complex, with road links to Manila can be serviced by these existing ports. Other ports in the eastern part of Luzon and those in Eastern Samar, Eastern Mindanao, Metro Manila will be linked by the Bikol ports in the easter side," he explained.
What happens to Virac, Masbate, and Bulan Ports?
"With the development of the regional port, and in conjunction with the Tabaco Port and the road networks, the right combination can be made by linking the Virac Port, overland to the regional port. Continuous and reliable transportation schemes can stimulate the economy of Catanduanes. As to the Masbate Port, it can enjoy more regular ship calls from the regional port while the Port of Bulan will serve as the link to the southernmost part of the Bikol Peninsula and the southwest up to Masbate," Gonzalez sums up.
GONZALEZ WHO?
It will be an effrontery to say that Fernando V. Gonzalez is an upstart countryside politician out to make some impression. No. He is true to life as well as life-size, as they put it. He is, as this writer sees him, a visionary whose experience is solid enough whereof his vision can fly into the realm of the senses and the sensible.
He is Mayor of Ligao, then a town, now a city. Ligao City is 32 kilometers from Pantao.
Gonzalez' manhood was shaped in the ports. Since 1963, 23 years after his birth in Tuburan, Ligao, Albay, the ports beckoned to be a "home, school, and workplace."
At that age he became Lighterage and Terminal Manager of Luzon Stevedoring Coporation in Manila. That was until 1975. In 1977 until 1982 he was Director for Port Operations of the Jeddah Islamic Port, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
From 1979 to 1984 he was Consultant for Port and Equipment Maintenance of the China Ports and Harbours, Jeddah Islamic Port, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. From 1982 to 1985 he was also Consultant for Port Operations, Saudi Balbridge, Inc., Damman Islamic Port, Saudi Arabia. From 1977 to 1986. Consultant for Port Operations, Mideast Port Operations, Ltd., Hong Kong. And from 1977 to 1996, he was president and general manager of Island Integrated Onshore Services, Inc.
The man knows what is and why Pantao.
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
Libon town mayor John Dycoco recognizes the efforts of Gonzalez. "I have much to thank him for. Mayor Gonzalez is doing a yeoman's job for us. We see that this project will be beneficial not only to Libon but to the entire Bikol Region," Dycoco said.
Like Dycoco, other members of the Albay Mayors League are for the development of the Pantao Harbor. The Regional Development Council has approved the project. It has been indorsed to Malacanang and the latter has issued instructions to agencies concerned, such as the Philippine Ports Authority, to start doing something . . . dust those drawing boards, clean up those technical pens, boot the computers. . .
Gonzalez believes that the creation of a Regional Port for Bikol will not only transcend domestic domestic limits to progress but it can cross international boundaries. "If such a project will bolster transformation of Bikol from agricultural to an agri-industrial economy, due to efficient and vigorous domestic trade, the presence of a central terminal will open doors to international markets as well," Gonzalez said.
In Albay, the Pantao Port Development Project appears to be a welcome activity. Since its endorsement by former President Fidel Ramos, no citizen opposition has surfaced. But from Camarines Sur some politicians cannot see the logic of Albay being the site of a project that can key up regional development. They claim that a regional port will be better situated in Camarines Sur, even without a study as thorough as Gonzalez'.
GMA HOLDS PANTAO SUMMIT
The national leadership recognizes and indorses the Pantao Port Development Project. If former President Fidel Ramos provided for the project's inclusion into the short and medium-term development plan of the country, President Gloria M. Arroyo went a little farther by personally visiting Pantao, October 5, 2002, for a summit that would show her administration's recognition of the project as a critical effort for regional development.
The Pantao Summit, as it was dubbed, already served as a pre-marketing activity for the services of the port to its target users with the presence of the Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association (PISA), Domestic Shipowners Association (DSA), Philippine Fast Ferry Operators Association (PHILFAST), and the Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport Association (PHILPEST).
It also sought the maximum order of stakeholders to the expeditious implementation of the project particularly national government agencies and local private sectors represented by the Albay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The summit also discussed critical development concerns of the Bikol Region such as the modernization of the Philippine National Railways, airport modernizaqtion, and river basix and watershed management.
The budget for the Pantao Port Development Project has been earmarked as follows: P150M in 2002, P150M for 2003, and P150M for 2004. With a total of P450M, the regional port is supposed to be fully operational by then.
In the meantime, the national government released P20M for a resetlement project in Pantao. The project is intended for households which may be displaced due to the construction of the port or those found to be residing in e lot areas which may be endangered by infrastructure projects. The resettlement project, under RA 7279, is dubbed as the "Libon Resettlement Project, Pantao, Libon, Albay." It offers an average lot size of 100 square meters for some 272 residential lots.
Will the resettled residents be the first beneficiaries of development that the Pantao Port will kick in?
great. thanks for posting this remarkable article, raffi. i'll watch for the second part!!
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