DOTr

MARINA Opens 8 Industry-Proposed RoRo Routes

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has opened 8 RoRo missionary routes proposed by shipping operators in support of the Road Roll-on / Roll-off Terminal System (RRTS) and the priority program relating to the upgrading of the domestic shipping in support of the nautical highway development under the 10-year maritime industry development plan (MIDP). At the latest Oversight Meeting of the…


Strengthening Our Hydrographic Office to Secure Our Future

This year is a milestone year for the global hydrographic community. 100 years ago or in June 1919, the 1st International Hydrographic Conference was held in London. It marks the beginning towards the creation of an international bureau for hydrography. Today, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is the authoritative worldwide hydrographic body which actively engages all coastal and interested States…


Passenger Ferry Launched in Davao to GenSan, Iloilo, and Manila

On 28-October-2018, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) together with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will re-open the Davao-General Santos-Iloilo Passenger Shipping Route. The re-establishment of ferry operations from Manila to Davao and vice versa is expected to address the lack of an accessible route that has been unavailable for a long time. It also…


The Port of Cagayan De Oro

The Port of Cagayan de Oro is situated in Cagayan de Oro City, the capital of Misamis Oriental and the regional center of Northern Mindanao. It is located in the Northern Coast of Mindanao within Macajalar Bay, near the mouth of the Cagayan de Oro River. It faces northwest and is protected to the east by a stretch of coast…


Decongesting the Marikina River

Marikina City, the shoe capital of the Philippines, is located by the banks of the Marikina River and is thus regularly prone to flooding and is also at risk from sea level rise. Marikina River flows into the Pasig River, which ultimately flows out to Manila Bay. During the typhoon season between August and November, floodwaters overflow into the riverbanks…


The Port of Davao

The Port of Davao is a seaport located in the island of Mindanao. The Port of Davao consists of a number of ports, all within the Davao Gulf, which is part of the Celebes Sea, but its main office and seaport is located at Sasa, Davao City. The Sasa Wharf is one of the largest and busiest piers in the…


Separation of the PCG from the Navy

After the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit decision in November 2017 to go, finally, for a Code of Conduct involving the 10 ASEAN member-nations and their Dialogue Partners, particularly the People’s Republic of China, the value of FVR’s strategic decision made 25 years ago to pursue the separation of the Philippine Coast Guard – from being one of the operating units of…


DENR Calls for Inter-Agency Cooperation to Protect and Conserve Coastal and Marine Resources

First of all, let me welcome all the participants composed of representatives from concerned government agencies in the maritime sector for the 127th Maritime Forum. This gathering is being undertaken in coordination with the Maritime League. It is truly an honor to host this event as we continue to work together to ensure that our agencies are being updated on…


Don’t Widen the Plate

How do we deal with negative news on the Maritime Industry? The most negative had been on our past shipping safety record, in particular because of the record-breaking casualty count of the Dona Paz disaster of 1987. Likewise, the sorry state of professional competence in the seafaring industry was hot news after the STCW 95 review highlighted the Philippine’s inability…


Proceedings of 123rd Maritime Forum

The 123rd Maritime Forum was held at the NDCP last 30-June-2017, 0800-1200H. The Maritime Forum is one of the activities the Maritime League, “a non­profit Filipino maritime foundation was established in 1990 to address the need for an organization, which will help spur progress in the maritime sector and advance the interest of the maritime profession and the maritime industry…



Is it time to create a Department for Maritime Affairs?

During the 120th Maritime Forum held at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific where we were once again awed by the progress and development of that excellent institution founded by AMOSUP Chairman Capt Greg Oca and nurtured by its President, VADM Eduardo Ma R Santos, I asked the Forum to remember former Senator Leticia R Shahani, likewise an…


Mining, Destabilization, Benham – DON’T PANIC

PART I “DUTERTE:  ‘MINING FIRMS FUNDING DESTABILIZATION PLOT.’ President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday accused some mining firms of financing what he called a ‘destabilization’ plot against his Administration.” Manila Times, 14-March-2017 During a presscon in Malacañang with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on 13-March-2017, President Rody Duterte said mining firms were funding the political opposition…


ICTSI and DOTr Launch the Country’s First Container Barge Terminal

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), in partnership with the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) recently launched the development of the country’s first container roll-on roll-off barge terminal in Tanza, Cavite.  To be built on a six-hectare property, the soon-to-be Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT) will facilitate off-the-road seaborn transport of containers between ICTSI’s Manila International Container Terminal and Cavite. The…


The Pentagon’s ‘Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure’

A colleague recently sent me an article written by Matthew Gault about a “hilarious — and infuriating — database of the government’s ethical shortcomings”.  An earlier version of this story was published in November 2014 by the magazine War Is Boring. Just like in the infamous “Laglag Bala” scandal involving personnel of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Department…