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1.63 million seagoing passengers travelled during the Holy Week on April 2-10, surpassing by 26% the 1.292 million passengers in the same period last year, the Philippine Ports Authority says
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The actual passenger count was fewer than 2.2 million passengers forecast earlier
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PPA says this year’s Holy Week exodus generally went well with no untoward incidents reported
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) recorded 1.63 million seagoing passengers during this year’s Holy Week from April 2 to 10, 24% more than the 1.292 million passengers in the same week in 2022.
The actual passenger traffic, however, was less than the 2.2 million forecast to use PPA’s ports during the Holy Week.
“Sa ngayon po unti-unti na tayong nakakabangon mula sa pandemic kaya tumaas rin po yung bilang ng mga kababayan natin na nag-biyahe para makauwi ngayong Semana Santa. Ito rin po yung dahilan kaya’t 24/7 po kaming naka-monitor dahil mas kailangan tayo ng tao,” PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said in a statement.
(Now we are recovering slowly from the pandemic so the number of our countrymen who travelled this Holy Week had risen. That was why we kept monitoring the situation 24/7 because we’re needed more by the people.)
PPA said this year’s Holy Week exodus generally went well with no untoward incidents reported by PPA port management offices (PMO) nationwide from Palm Sunday on April 2 to Easter Sunday on April 10.
April 10, which was declared a holiday, saw the biggest number of passengers that reached 253,154, as most travelers returned from their vacations. This was followed by the 233,962 passengers on April 5, when people traveled to their hometowns or vacation sites.
Santiago said the only complaint the PPA received was the non-operational online booking systems of some shipping lines at the Port of Batangas, resulting in some queueing on the first few days of the Holy Week due to the influx of passengers at the port.
“Ikinatutuwa po natin na walang nangyaring hindi maganda sa mga pantalan ngayong Holy Week. Kung meron man po tayong reklamong natanggap ay ito lang po yung sa mga hindi gumaganang online booking system ng mga shipping lines dyan sa Batangas port po at ipinagbigay-alam na po natin ito sa MARINA [Maritime Industry Authority], pero so far, masasabi po natin na naging maayos at payapa po ang Semana Santa 2023,” Santiago said.
(We’re glad that nothing untoward happened at the ports this Holy Week. If ever we have received complaints, they were about the not functioning online booking system of shipping lines over at the Batangas port and we have reported this to the MARINA (Maritime Industry Authority). However, so far we can say that Holy Week 2023 has been orderly and peaceful.)
PPA implemented a “no leave policy” to ensure full manpower to attend to the turnout of passengers during the Holy Week.
PPA in March inaugurated its newly completed facilities at ports that cater to huge numbers of passengers during peak seasons. These include Calapan port’s passenger terminal building (PTB), the largest PTB to date; and the port operations buildings at Coron and Masbate ports.
RELATED READ: PPA inaugurates biggest passenger terminal building in Calapan port
