To Complement 130-Unit Bus Fleet:

Philtranco, the country's major bus operator, is to acquire eight more ro-ro ferries to support expansion of its bus transport operations along the Pan-Philippine highway that links Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao islands by ferry.

Sources within the company said the second-hand ferries would complement the increasing bus fleet of 130 units that will treble this year following the granting of a loan from a local bank.

The vessel acquisition plan follows the introduction of three small ro-ro vessels from Japan as the company decided to fully integrate domestic shipping into its land transport operation. The three vessels are the Akinada 1, Akinada 2 and Yaeshima No. 8.

The vessels, whose sizes range from 221 to 300 GRT, will be deployed in the Matnog-San Isidro, Samar route and Cebu to Palompon, Leyte to ferry vehicles and passengers beginning June this year. They will be renamed Maharlika 3, Maharlika 4 and Lakbayan 1, respectively.

Company officials said the vessels would not only cater to Philtranco buses -- though they will be served as a priority but to all types of vehicles as well. The initial three vessels can accommodate between 200 to 400 passengers.

The bus company, which also holds the exclusive national bus franchise, says the plan to acquire more ships was prompted by the increasing number of passengers on its routes yearly.

Integration of shipping operation into Philtranco's national bus transport service has gained the firm's status of a full-fledged ship owner. The recent extension of a loan facility to Philtranco amounting to P452 million ($11 million) enables it to push for a bus re-fleeting program to a total of 360 units.

Such an expansion will have to be complemented by the full backing of a regular ro-ro shipping service so as not to depend on another company for ferry requirements, the company said.

Once the planned eight vessels have been acquired this year the company will own a fleet of 12 ro-ro vessels beginning 2001. From Matnog in the Bicol region where the link from Luzon to Visayas begins, deployment of the vessels from the Visayas in Liloan, Leyte (Visayas) to Lipata, Surigao in Mindanao will then be completed.

Philtranco's ferry operations are being handled by St. Bernard Services and PSEI Transport Corp., the bus company's domestic shipping subsidiaries.

As a strategic link to both short and long distance routes, the government still sees ro-ro ships playing the dominant role in carrying out basic shipping services in the domestic trade.

The recent program adopted by the Department of Transportation and Communications has put more thrust in developing additional routes for ro-ro vessels as an alternative to the existing Pan-Philippine Highway.

As a sign of its commitment on this type of shipping operation, the next approach DOTC wants to implement is to develop ro-ro link to Asean ports in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The new ro-ro lanes that would link the so-called East Asean Growth Area to domestic ports in Mindanao will have facilities for ramps, passenger terminals, and administration buildings.