Vol. XXII, No. 135 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
BATANGAS-BASED Montenegro Shipping Lines, Inc. will open a bus company as part of its goal to connect Manila and Cebu via Masbate using roll-on/roll-off (RORO) vessels.
Freddie C. Cabuhal, operations manager of Montenegro Shipping, told BusinessWorld the bus firm, Rorobus Transport Services, Inc., intends to start operations with 16 buses and two vessels by April.
"The vessels are ready. We are just waiting for the go-signal of port authorities in Legazpi City, since the facilities there had been damaged during a storm," Mr. Cabuhal said in Filipino.
The bus will leave Manila for Batangas Port. From there, a ferry will take the bus to Cauayan, Masbate, and then to Bogo, Cebu.
Mr. Cabuhal said the company, which will offer the service four times daily, was still waiting for its franchise from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
In a separate interview, Raul T. Santos, Philippine Ports Authority assistant to the general manager for corporate affairs, said the entry of a shipping company serving passengers was a welcome development.
"So far, only cargo ships have been using that route... The roads there are ready," he said, adding that they expect more shipping companies to come in.
The infrastructure for the route has been in place since April last year.
Mr. Cabuhal declined to say how much passenger traffic the company expects, but pointed out that Montenegro Shipping would be the first to serve the passenger route. He also did not say how long the travel will be.
"We thought the route was feasible, since the two cities are the country’s economic centers," he said, adding that the service was in line with a government plan to connect the country’s islands using roll-on/roll-off vessels.
Mr. Cabuhal said the company had not finalized its prices, but they would base this on current fare matrices for the 800-kilometer route.
He added that the firm was unlikely to face competition from budget airlines, since Roro-bus Transport will target the masses.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the incorporation of Rorobus Transport, which has a capital stock of P80 million.
Montenegro Shipping was established in 1978 by Vicente Leyco Montenegro, Sr.
According to the company Web site, it has a fleet of 33 vessels that travel to 21 ports in the Southern Tagalog region, Bicol, Visayas and Mindanao.
Montenegro Shipping, which employs more than 1,200 workers, has seven satellite offices with 16 stations in the cities of Batangas, Lucena, Masbate, Bacolod, Caticlan, Malay, Aklan, Surigao and Dumaguete. — Don Gil K. Carreon
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