2GO Group Inc. said Thursday it will no longer charge the government for the use of two vessels as quarantine facilities.
2GO chairman Dennis Uy said in a statement the actual cost to operate the two vessels as quarantine facilities could reach P260 million, which it would shoulder as donation.
“The P35 million was an offer made by the DOTr [Department of Transportation], for which we had no plans of accepting. Even if the government offers to pay the P35 million, we in 2Go, in good conscience, have no intentions of accepting their offer,” Uy said.
“As chairman of 2Go, I have conferred with other shareholders and have given explicit instructions to waive the P35-million expected payment from the government; and if necessary make good the said amount out of my own funds to cover for the expected expenses to operate the said ships,” he said.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade welcomed the decision of Uy for publicly announcing the waiving of rental fees for the two vessels that were mobilized as quarantine facilities.
“We take pride in this shared endeavor of the DOTr and 2Go, both of which recognized the urgency to put up the ‘quarantine ships’ to augment the need for quarantine facilities,” Tugade said.
“It must be emphasized that the initial rate quoted was P120 million. From P120 million, the negotiating panel was able to arrive at a P35 million rental fee concession for the two vessels for a two-month term, taking into consideration vessel operating expenditures such as its fuel, electricity, water, maintenance, supplies and actual salaries of manpower of the crew and hotel staff to effectively run the ship, and equating it with bed space usage,” he said.
The two vessels, which will be used as “quarantine ships” can serve 1,500 patients.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases gave the DOTr and the PCG the green light to implement the operation of “quarantine ships” as temporary facilities for persons under monitoring or those who have traveled to COVID-19 affected areas and those who show symptoms but have no history of exposure.
The project will be implemented in close coordination with the Department of Health and the Bureau of Quarantine. This is also expected to unburden hospitals that are now operating at full capacity.