President Marcos Vice President Sara visit Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte visited Cebu yesterday to grace different events in the province.

In Liloan, Marcos and Duterte led the grand launching of a private-sector led pier in the town.

Yesterday morning, Duterte was in Mandaue City to launch her campaign called the PagbaBago: A Million Learners and Trees.’ (See separate story below)

“We witness today the grand launching of Pier 88, which shall offer a faster transport alternative for passengers and for cargo, and holds promise to become a local economic hub. It shall immensely serve the interests of the people of Liloan and beyond,” Marcos said in his speech during the launching of Pier 88 in Liloan.

Marcos said that it is encouraging to see a massive undertaking such as the Pier 88 – where the local government takes the lead and collaborates with the private sector and other LGUs – in the pursuit of objectives consonant with the national development agenda.

“We have now this Pier 88. We now have a ferry service. We talked about Camotes Islands and we think of course that is going to be good for Liloan, it’s going to be good for Camotes, but it doesn’t end there,” he said.

The President explained that the concept that Association of Southeast Asian Nation leaders have been talking about so as to develop the economies of the ASEAN Member States is a concept of connectivity.

“We have used the word connectivity merely to describe digital connectivity. We have now extended the meaning of that connectivity to include not only digital connectivity, but also to include connectivity in terms of land, and sea, and air transport,” he added.

With a size of about three hectares, the new port will serve as an alternative gateway from Cebu mainland to the outlying Camotes Group of Islands and soon to some parts of Leyte.

Pier 88 is eight years in the making, conceptualized during the time of Fifth District Representative Duke Frasco’s last term as mayor of Liloan in 2015 and approved in 2017 when he was commissioner of the Cebu Port Authority

It will serve the people of Bohol, Camotes, Leyte, and Cebu.

“As I had my heart set on this significant feat ever since I was a mayor, Pier 88 became a personal aspiration and goal for my constituents. Pursuing this dream and having committed to implementing this port project for eight years now, it is with heartfelt gratitude and joy to be in the final stages of completing this groundbreaking development for our beloved Liloan and the 5th District of Cebu,” said Rep. Frasco in his Facebook post.

The site, which has commercial spaces for trendy establishments and restaurants, also connects to the Cebu North Bus Terminal which recently launched bus trips to Camotes via Ro-ro vessels from Liloan.

The new port will also serve as the future alternative route to commuters from the northern portion of Metro Cebu via seabus passenger vessels going to Mactan Island in Lapu-Lapu City where the Mactan Export Processing Zone and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport is located.

Pier 88 is developed by the Topline Group of Companies, in partnership with Pier 88 Ventures, Inc.

Port facilities and services of Pier88 will include ramps for berthing, mooring dolphins, pedestrian bollards, pier bridge and deck, truck weighing scale, storage, cargo handling, trucking, arrastre, porterate, stevedoring, leisure and island hopping terminal, shuttle, and banking services.

Pier 88 broke ground on March 22, 2019 followed by the causeway inauguration on October 24, 2021.

Landmark Development

The launch of this "smart port" is a landmark development for Cebu's tourism sector, as it will now serve as a new entry point for tourists and locals to Camotes Islands, a rising tourist hub in Cebu.

Governor Gwen Garcia, in her speech, highlighted how this development will greatly help Cebuanos and foreign tourists in reaching Camotes.

She said the development will "finally end the suffering" of many travelers who used to have only one option in visiting Camotes -- the Danao City-San Francisco route.

The governor is optimistic of a "much brighter future of economic development and boom in tourism" with this major completed project.

The President underscored how Cebu has been "leading the way" in many aspects, and economic resurgence is just one.

OceanJet, Super Shuttle, and Aznar Shipping have already come on board to offer daily trips from Liloan to Poro town in Camotes.

Last May 26, 2023, the 350-passenger capacity Ocean Jet 15 was the first vessel that to use port.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo, Deputy Speaker Raymond Mendoza, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, and Cebu Representatives  Emmarie Ouano-Dizon, Janice Salimbangon, Cindi King-Chan and Edu Rama as well as Topline Group of Companies CEO Erik Lim also attended the event.  — (FREEMAN)