The Philippine Ports Authority will soon put up a baggage x-ray and walk-through metal detector at the temporary passenger terminal building at the Dumaguete City Port.

Noeme Calderon, PPA port manager said that the project in consonance with the International Seaport Facility Code is long overdue.

The project was stalled because of the lack of a permanent passenger terminal building, he said, adding that the construction of the passenger terminal in Dumaguete had been postponed several times due to objection from environmentalist groups. The renovation of the terminal is going on. It will be air-conditioned and will be manned by trained personnel.

The gadget is purposely to prevent acts of terrorism, which Calderon said, is real due to the presence of the nautical highway and the proximity of the island province to Cebu and Mindanao. A public hearing on the imposition and collection of terminal fee from every outgoing passenger who commutes from the port of Dumaguete will be conducted tomorrow, in the presence of various stakeholders, representatives from shipping lines, government agencies, and the traveling public.

Calderon said the suggested terminal fee is P15, which is a break-even proposition, to offset the cost of power, manpower requirement and maintenance cost of the more than P6.7 million equipment.*

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