Members of the Port and Maritime Management Council (PMMAC) and Port Security Advisory Council (PSAC) together with invited agencies virtually convened on December 14, 2021, for port security, health, and other updates for the last quarter of the current year.

The PMO MO/C, through its Engineering Services Division and Port Police Division, presented the updates on the status of various port infrastructure projects and general information on port security, respectively. Vaccination status of the PMO personnel and the Oroport Cargohandling Inc., the cargo handling operator at CDO Port, was also presented by the PMO’s COVID-19 Response Emergency Core Team chaired by the port’s Station Commander. As of 14 December 2021, 99% of the PMO’s human resource have already been inoculated. For Oroport, 58% of their personnel are fully vaccinated, 21% already had their first dose, and the rest are unvaccinated.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) presented the updates on the implementation of the Passenger e-Manifest System. This system serves as a tool to replace the pen-and-paper manifest of all ships calling at the Port of Cagayan de Oro and for a more efficient and digitized contact tracing of passengers.

During the virtual breakout session, the respective members of the PMMAC and PSAC discussed the measures and activities to implement or carry-out in ports under the Operational Plan (OPLAN) Pasko 2021 and New Year 2022 that will run from 16 December 2021 to 05 January 2022 to provide utmost safety, security, and convenience to the seagoing public during the holiday season. With the expected influx of passengers as travel restrictions have been easing up in many provinces nationwide, the attendees discussed the provision of standby medical team, helpdesk, among others, in ports to provide prompt assistance to the passengers. Additionally, to have an immediate response team for any emergency cases during legal and declared non-working holidays in December, the deployment of a skeletal workforce was also considered.

The PMO MO/C expressed gratitude to all the attendees for their commitment and contributions during the Quarterly meetings this year. —BCAcedera