“(W)hat better experience can a Pinoy tourist have than staying in the equivalent of a five-star hotel room while touring the untamed beaches and exotic islands of our own country?”
by Ducky Paredes
Steve Tajanlangit is a dreamer. When he saw Boracay, many years back, he knew that he had a winner and built the first resorts on the island, later selling a piece of the island to a developer that built the golf course and among the largest resorts on the island.
Recently, Esteban Tajanlangit, Jr. has been looking at Coron that has 25% of the more than 100 islands in the Palawan group. He knows that this will be the next tourist destination although this will take a few years. Steve has been looking for a boat – a cruise ship – to sail Philippine waters and which will cater to the Filipino tourism market. After all, what better experience can a Pinoy tourist have than staying in the equivalent of a five-star hotel room while touring the untamed beaches and exotic islands of our own country?
Although he had looked over the vessel before, when he tried to buy the MV Coco Explorer 2, C & C Marine A/S Copenhagen, Denmark that owned the ship, rejected his bid. Years later, the same Panamanian Flag vessel was sent from Thailand to the Philippines for repairs at the Herma Shipyard in Bataan. At that point, while the vessel was still at Batangas port more than a month after arrival in the country, C & C Marine of Denmark also communicated with Steve and they executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the sale of the ship to Steve.
Now, Steve may know everything about the resort business; but he has never run a ship before nor dealt with the government agencies that one must go through as a ship owner. A relative suggested a manning outfit to run the ship and help with the paperwork.
Thus, within a week, Orophil Shipping Co., Inc. had a proposal on Steve’s desk proposing just that. They would run the vessel for him and do all the documentary requirements to convert the MV Coco (a Panamanian flag vessel) to MV 1017 Islands, Philippine Flag vessel. Only Philippine flagships can sail domestically and Steve’s ship would be exclusively for those who want to see our more than 7,000 islands.
The principal owner of Orola is Juan Orola, Jr. a former Tourism Attache and a former congressman (one-term) of Bacolod. Having been in Congress, he has clout in government agencies some of which are run by former colleagues in congress.
A little more than a month into their contract with the vessel in dry dock, Steve was shocked to learn that his vessel had been burglarized. And, Orophil that was manning the ship never reported the incident to Steve.
In the meantime, the fees being paid to Orophil were mounting and Steve, an astute businessman even if he is not much of a shipping maven, began seeing a pattern of overpricing and unliquidated advances.
Two months after the pilferage, in January 2008, Steve requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for a report on the pilferage. Steve had lost 40,000 liters of fuel sucked out of the tanks, together with ballast and other metals, paintings, linen, kitchenware, antique pieces and so on. In the same month, the RATS group of the Bureau of Customs issued a subpoena to the ship captain of the vessel (an employee of Orophil) to submit all the documents of the vessel.
In the meantime, the paperwork on the intricate processing of the application to change the country flag of the ship was going on. On February 22, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the Articles of Incorporation of 7107 Islands Shipping Corp. (Single proprietors are not allowed to own commercial vessels.)
So, on March 3, 2008, a letter could finally and in fact was submitted to the Marina with all the required documentary requirements on the “application for issuance of authority to acquire ship through importation and/or outright purchase.”
On March 4, 2008, however, the RATS group of the Bureau of Customs issued a Warrant Seizure and Detention Order (WSD) on the vessel. They were seizing the vessel for violation of “Section 2530 (f) & (l) – 5of the TCCP as amended.
And, on March 7, 2008, Orophil informed Steve that “due to the WSD, Orophil shall no longer be bound by the Ship Management Agreement. Orophil, which had accumulated unliquidated advances, demanded immediate payment of a little over P4 million for its services and claims for advances by Orophil to Steve.
This is laughable. In the manning business, the agency never advances anything to or for the owner. Advances go only one way – from the ship owner to the manning agency, not vice versa.
Apparently, the former congressman, with various allies in the government was playing Steve Tajanlangit, Jr. for a patsy. Orola had convinced the Bureau of Customs that Steve brought his vessel into the Philippines surreptitiously and had been running it as a cruise ship all over the Philippines under the Panamanian flag.
On the part of Steve, his dream of finally having a cruise ship for our thousands of islands seemed at an end; but he fought on. Even as 7107 Islands was moving to quash WSD No. 2008-054, its application with the Marina was approved on April 24. 2008. 7107 Shipping Corporation was approved and accredited to engage in the Domestic Shipping Business valid to April 23, 2011,
On May 6, 2008, Marina granted 7107 Islands the authority to purchase MV Coco Explorer subject to 26 conditions, which included the final outcome of the Civil Case filed by Orophil for P4 million. On May 16, Marina issued a certification that “MV Coco Explorer 2 was inspected/surveyed by Marina surveyor on 16 May 2008 at Pier 6, North Harbor, Manila and that the ship may now be released by the Bureau of Customs.”
On May 22, 2008, Marina issued the Tonnage Measurement Certificate for the MV 7107 Islands Cruiser.
The next day, the District Collector for he Port of Manila of the Bureau of Customs Horacio Suansing, Jr. decided, after two months of hearting, to lift the WSD and release the vessel to 7107 Islands Corp.
On May 28, 2008, the “Tourism Triangle” Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the Provincial Governors of Batangas, Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, Antique, Aklan and Palawan and witnessed by officials of the Departments of Tourism (DOT) and of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). This triangle is the main cruise destinations of the 7107 Islands Cruiser.
On June 4, 2008, Marina issued the Plans Approval of Existing Motor Vessel named “7107 Islands Cruise.” This is another of the requirements before one could finalize the purchase.
On August 21, 2008, the Commissioner of Customs affirmed the Decision of the District Collector. The Customs commissioner and sent his decision to the Secretary of Finance for final review and clearance of release of vessel.
It looked like Steve’s ordeal was finally over. It was not.
(More tomorrow.)
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hvp 06.24.09)
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