Despite losses, Dapitan port remains a lifeline for trade, anchored in history

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The 'missionary port' carries the weight of trade and commerce on its back, despite the losses. It survives because other ports keep it afloat.

DAPITAN, Philippines – The Port of Dapitan is losing money. Millions of pesos, year after year. By all accounts, it should have folded. But it hasn’t. It keeps running not because it turns a profit, but because it has to.

The port is a vital link, a bridge between the Mindanao region of Zamboanga Peninsula, the Visayas, and Luzon. It carries the weight of trade and commerce on its back, despite the financial losses. It survives because others keep it afloat.

They call it a “missionary port.” The term is fitting both in the way it relies on financial support from wealthier ports and in its deeper, more historical sense.

DOCK. Inter-island ships regularly dock at the Port of Dapitan, serving as a key gateway for trade and travel. Gualberto Laput/Rappler

Centuries before the port became a conduit for trade, the Jesuits anchored in Dapitan, their gateway to northern Mindanao, and their first mission station in 1596. From Dapitan, they spread Catholicism, using the natural harbor to shield their ships from the harsh elements.

“As of now, we are subsidized by big ports in Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and others as we cannot just shut our port down because it is losing. It is a crucial link of trade route and commerce in the entire country,” according to Subanrio Lim, head of the Port Management Office (PMO) in Zamboanga del Norte.

In the past, the port was known for lawlessness, high transport costs, and even child labor. Despite its losses, the Port of Dapitan, where the PMO is based, has improved its services, infrastructure, and security over two decades, Lim said.

“Despite difficulties in our finances, we now have well-trained and courteous personnel. We added ramps. We have a dedicated area for cargo ships. We have an effective security system. Our terminal and other infrastructure have been expanded and strategically located,” Lim said.

History

Dapitan Bay, a cove, was a mooring point even before Spanish colonization.

“Chinese merchants [aboard] their junks were already dropping their anchors off Dapitan before the first Spanish galleons arrived,” Professor Rex Hamoy, a historian in Dapitan, told Rappler on Wednesday, April 2.

Hamoy said Dapitan Bay, a natural harbor, remains a refuge for ships during bad weather.

For a long time, sailors anchored in the bay and reached the shore using small boats known as bote. The practice continued until 1929, when a pier was built on the western side of Dapitan Bay. The pier, called Pulauan (derived from the Cebuano word pulaw, meaning dogwatch, referring to the lookout for incoming ships). It was constructed during the tenure of Zamboanga governor Jose Aseniero, one of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s students in Dapitan, according to Hamoy.

He said the Jesuits chose Dapitan as their first mission station in Mindanao because the harbor protected their ships.

Early sailors recognized they were entering Dapitan Bay upon sighting Tag-ulo Point, which they called the “heart of Mindanao.” It was the first land visible when traveling to Mindanao from the Visayas.

Expansion

As of now, two cargo shipping companies and eight passenger vessels serve the Port of Dapitan, linking it to Dumaguete, Cebu, and Manila, Lim said.

In 2024, 1.7 million passengers traveled through the port, generating P80 million in revenue.

“Yet it is still not enough for our maintenance and operations,” Lim said. “I’m looking forward to the day when other ports would no longer subsidize us.”

HOPEFUL. Port of Dapitan manager Subanrio Lim says he is looking forward to the day when the port could operate without subsidy. Gualberto Laput/Rappler

Lim said improvements were ongoing, with systematic upgrades to facilities and infrastructure, a weighing bridge for roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) cargo trucks, an expanded passenger terminal, X-ray machines, facial recognition cameras, and K-9 units from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Recently, navigation buoys were installed to guide docking ships.

The Port of Dapitan has a total area of 22,078 square meters. It has three Ro-Ro ramps, two reinforced concrete piers – long, narrow structures extending into the water – and two wharves, wide structures running parallel to the shoreline. – Rappler.com