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SAFETY
FIRST. Philippine Coast Guard inspects the 18 floating
restaurants at the Loboc River Cruise which expect huge
volume of tourists for the Chinese New Year. Five boats
will be grounded starting today after the hulls were found
dilapidated and the steel frames on the boat were weak.
PCG said this is to assure safety of the visiting tourists.
Foto DANNY REYES |
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Five
floating restaurants operating at the Loboc River Cruise
could not carry out bookings starting this morning after
they were ordered grounded by the Philippine Coast Guard.
Of
the 18, five floating restaurants were found "unfit"
to travel
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after
an inspection team checked the boats twice yesterday and found
that their hulls were dilapidated and the steel frames at the
boat were weak.
"We
could not take the risk," Coast Guard commander William
Isaga told the Chronicle after announcing last night his order
to immediately ground the five floating restaurants, namely,
RiverCruise 3, 6, 4, Riverview 1 and Longriver 1.
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The
action of the Coast Guard came even as volumes of tourists
are expected to arrive here for the Chinese New Year.
He said "the more we will protect the tourists
since they are expected to jam the cruise this weekend,
being the Chinese New Year."
He
informed the Provincial Tourism Council of his order
after the PTC requested that the boats be re-inspected
after an earlier order was supposed to be issued last
Monday. Isaga accepted the PTC's request but later on
issued his final order that declared the five boats
"unsafe to travel," thus, "to be grounded
starting today."
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Meanwhile,
he issued the other boats 30 days moratorium to complete their
papers with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA). He recognized
the boat operators' request that their permits were not renewed
since MARINA offices were slow in processing their renewal.
Because
of the operators' complaint against MARINA's delayed work,
PTC requested Rep. Edgar Chatto, House tourism committee chair
to make representations with MARINA regarding the delayed
renewal papers.
Chatto
was assured by MARINA Administrator Vic Suazo to consider
the situation and issue provisional permits while awaiting
the completion of their renewal papers.
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