score:3
You can fly from Mindanao to Cebu and then to Tacloban instead. Tickets from Cebu are about 150$. From there you can take a public bus or jeepneys to Catbalogan. You can also rent a car there with driver for 100$/day. While this is not a direct transport either, its surely better than the 12 hours boat from Cebu.
Tacloban might also be the better place to celebrate new year since it's a bit bigger than Catbalogan and has specific tourist information on that.