Boat operators object city law

SOME boat operators based in Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) but are doing business in the city expressed their objection to the Davao City ordinance requiring them to secure tourism license and business permit.

Boat operators from Igacos who joined the Sta. Ana Wharf Operations meeting with boat owners last Friday questioned the requirement of business permit and the licensing fees for tourist sea transport operators who conduct business here.

"Ang nahitabo man gud ani kung i-impose ninyo ang mayor's permit sa Davao duha na ang among mayor's permit sa Davao. Duha na ang among mayor's permit kay naa naman mayor's permit na sa among boats sa Samal Island (What would

happen is if you will impose the mayor's permit in Davao, we will have two mayor's permit since we also secure mayor's permit from Samal Island)," said Jeanne April Celerio-Kroell, the owner of Hof Gorei Resort and at the same time owner of seven passenger boats.

The city government of Davao through Davao City assistant city administrator on operations lawyer Lawrence Bantiding clarified that the collection of business permit is backed by an unimplemented ordinance passed way back in 2005.

"May basehan po tayo niyan. It just so happened na hindi po natin naimplement, kaagad where in fact we have our 2005 revenue code as basis, in that ordinance, it was stated in the ordinance, that before any person or any entity can do business here in Davao City, they should secure a business permit. That is the reason why we are requiring you now a business permit," Bantiding said.

"The requirements we are asking is for the privilege you have in conducting business in Davao. We cannot deny the fact that you are using the wharf here in Davao. Aside from the business permit you would be giving to Samal, you should also ask permit here in the city," he added.

Aside from the business permit, boat operators also objected to the licensing fee of P1,000 per boat that will be collected by the City Tourisms Office. This was stipulated in the amended City Tourism Operations Office Tourism Code passed in 2014.

Tita Estoce, the chair of Katamubay, an organization of boat owners based at Kaputian suggested that the city must first require the business permit and licensing fee to Davao Citybased boat operators before they will ask for the same fee from Samal boat operators.

"In Davao City there are boats based in Santa Ana Pier, we know that not all of them have secured a business permit. Can it be that you ask business permit from them first before us? What we can give as counterpart is the docking fee daily, since our boat travel to and from Kaputian and Davao and vice versa. We pay P92 to P100 to Philippine Ports Authority per day per dock, if we can travel twice a day, we also pay twice to you," she said.

Estose admitted that she has not received any notice from the city regarding the ordinance and she is now asking for one year before the ordinance should take effect.

"We just ask of you, there must be bargain. For the meantime, our association was just surprised about this, but we understood that the LGU (local government unit) needs to collect but we are already paying too much to the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), we are also being choked by the fees there, even if we do not understand, we just comply with everything," she said in the vernacular.

Estose added that they do not ask business permit nor docking fee from Davao Citybased boats docking in Kaputian.

She said she can attest to this since she is a barangay councilor in the area.

"Those Davao City based boats must be the first to follow this, and after that maybe next year our association will coorThe dinate with you," Estose said.

Meanwhile, Davao City Tourism Operations Office Generose Tecson said that it is necessary for the boat owners to have business permit at the same time pay for licensing fee so that CTO and the city can also check what needs to be done on their boats.

"We will really require them to get their business permit as what attorney Bantiding said. We will just streamline all the processes, so that the requirements won't be doubled. The CTOO is a regulatory office so we need to collect license fees, which was also required in our tourism code," Tecson added.

She also said that CTO are among the regulatory offices that the operators need to pass before they can be issued with the business permit.