No SB Malay endorsement yet for Cagban port development

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The proposed operation and development of Cagban jetty port and terminal in Boracay Island has no endorsement from the Sangguniang Bayan of Malay, Aklan. 

PHOTO AKLAN FORUM JOURNAL

Town councilor Floribar Bautista urged the Mabuhay Maritime Express Transport Incorporated (MMETI) to secure endorsement first from the local legislative council before entering into agreement with the provincial government of Aklan.

“Dapat kumuha sila ng endorsement sa Sangguniang Bayan of Malay to put up facilities in Malay, Aklan,” he stressed. 

On September 17, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan granted the request of Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores to sign the lease and development agreement between MMETI and the provincial government of Aklan for the Cagban jetty port and terminal project as per Committee Report No. 2018-160. 

It was learned that MMTEI submitted an unsolicited proposal to develop the upper deck of terminal station in Cagban jetty port and construction of other facilities in vacant spaces within the port at no expense to the provincial government of Aklan under the 25-year public-private partnership (PPP). 

The SP Committee of the Whole also conducted public hearings and consultation in compliance with the provisions of Aklan PPP code. 

Also ongoing is the construction of MMETI jetty port in Barangay Pook in Kalibo, Aklan. The port will cater the tourists coming from Kalibo International Airport to Cagban jetty port and vice versa.

Bautista said MMETI officials will be invited in their regular session to discuss the development plans in Cagban jetty port and terminal. 

“May moratorium tayo sa construction sa isla. Kailangang malaman din natin ang plano ng MMETI,” he added.

Bautista recalled that SB Malay Resolution No. 035 series of 2000 favorably endorsed the construction of jetty port and terminal building by the provincial government in Sitio Cagban in Barangay Manoc-Manoc.

The constructions of jetty ports in Caticlan and Cagban in Malay, Aklan were partly funded by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) to boost the tourism industry and economic growth in Aklan and  to facilitate safer, comfortable and efficient services for commuters, local and foreign tourists.