CAWAYAN PORT, Masbate -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent off on Monday the roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry that was on its maiden voyage from this port, but did not board it.

The Super Shuttle Ferry 12 was the third ferry she sent off for the day as part of the Ro-Ro caravan to promote anew the Strong Philippines Nautical Highway that linked various islands in the country from Luzon to Mindanao.

But the President hopped from port to port via the helicopter and was scheduled to be on board the Ro-Ro ferry only on Tuesday when she would be joined by her Cabinet for a meeting.

The three-day caravan will travel from Sorsogon in Bicol to Misamis Oriental in Mindanao.

The ferry that sailed from this port would travel for four hours up to its destination in Pulang Bato Port in Bogo City, Cebu.

Earlier on Monday, Arroyo also sent off ferries in Bulan, Sorsogon bound for Allen, Samar and another in Masbate Port bound to Pilar, Sorsogon.

After being given a briefing by officials here on the status of the port improvement project, Arroyo instructed them to finish road projects, particularly those in Buenavista and Cawayan.

The Cawayan Ro-Ro Port will serve as the nautical link between Bicol through Pilar via Aroroy or Masbate and the province of Cebu and other points of destination in the Visayas and Mindanao islands.

On Tuesday, Arroyo will be joined by members of her Cabinet for their regular meeting aboard a Ro-Ro ferry from Jagna Port in Bohol to Mambajao, Camiguin, where they will discuss one-stop-shop for housing, food situation, and the impact of the nautical highway project.

The Ro-Ro caravan will end in Balingoan in Misamis Oriental.

Arroyo will board the Ro-Ro ferry only during the Cabinet meeting, unlike in April 2003 when she launched the Ro-Ro system, where she was aboard during the entire caravan.

The SRNH is a 919-kilometer (land) and 137-nautical mile (sea) transportation infrastructure that includes the Western Nautical Highway or the western seaboard route that links Manila and Dipolog City in Mindanao, and the Eastern Nautical Highway or the eastern sealink that connects Biliran in Leyte to Surigao City.