The possibility of a looming showdown between the forces of Loay Mayor Rosemarie Lim-Imboy in the Sangguniang Bayan against some “recalcitrant” members over the issue of the town’s floating restaurants appeared to have waned a bit after the lady mayor decided to look into claims of the operator that the business is losing. This surfaced yesterday after the lady mayor was reported to have given the operator Engr. Rodrigo Labunog “the benefit of the doubt” regarding his claims that his Loay river boat cruise suffered a slump as a result of the imposition of new tariff to tourists patronizing the business.

The affected tourists reportedly balked at the idea of having to fork over P60 more against the original rate of P10 for the Loay experience of eating while boats are cruising the fabled Loay river. According to Labunog’s complaint, his business suffered a 75 percent dip in patronage when Mayor Imboy implemented a municipal ordinance increasing the entrance fee due the municipality from P10 to P70. Mayor Imboy’s apparent change of heart was a welcome development to Labunog and his backers in the SB who threatened for a vote showdown against the mayor’s men. Reports reaching the Post Friday showed that some SB members who were counted as the mayor’s party mates threatened to revise the ordinance imposing the P70 tariff to P50. The ordinance is called Tourist Welfare Fee of the Municipality of Loay. It was approved after its publication in the Bohol Sunday Post in its issue on Feb. 6, 2011.

The maverick councilors appeared siding with the position of Labunog on the “floating issue” after they were convinced that the operator would have no option but to close shop if business continues to be losing steam owing to the absence of tourists. The case of Loay’s slump in tourist patronage was Loboc’s gain. Loay-bound tourists were forced to patronize the Loboc version when the municipality imposed the new rate of P70 per head. This was the eventual outcome after drivers and operators of tourist vans and cars in connivance with tourist guides cajoled their passengers to skip Loay and brought them to Loboc instead. The come-on to these drivers and guides are the P80 commission per head of tourists patronizing the floating restaurants in either Loay or Loboc. The commission is given by the floating resto operators. For Labunog, to capture a sizable part of the burgeoning market, he also allowed to be “hostaged” by van and car drivers and tour guides in the matter of giving commissions.

With the threat to his business hanging like a sword of Damocles, Labunog wrote the SB objecting the new imposition. It was his way of preventing the business to go belly up. According to Mayor Imboy, the P70/person rate was approved by the SB a year ago and it was only this time that she decided to implement it because she found it to be too minimal. In his letter to the SB, Labunog said the amount was too much. Comparing the Loboc experience where the municipality exacts P100/person, Labunog said it was different there because the town already developed the docking area, waiting area, kitchen, access road and many more. In the case of Loay, Mayor Imboy justified the new rate because the plan was to improve the landing facilities of the Loay river cruise using the proceeds of the increased imposition.