What is the fastest (and affordable) way to get to Catbalogan, Samar from Mindanao?

I'm going to the Philippines in December and there's a 21K race I would like to do. The race is in Catbalogan and apparently there's no flights to their airport. I tried to look in WikiTravel with no luck. I'll be in Mindanao and I was looking for either flights or ferries (Cagayan de oro seems to be the place to start).

We'll be 5 adults and 1 baby travelling, so the option of one small airplane to charter is not an option as they only allow max of 4 people (from those who I asked) and the price is quite high for a return flight.

What I found most is Ferries (which, by the way, don't look nice) from Cebu to Catbalogan, but that it's too much travel, I think, for the baby.

Any ideas?