Coast Guard sees 2 M Holy Week sea travelers
More than two million people are expected to travel by sea during Holy Week, a little higher than the number of passengers last year, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said yesterday.
PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo sees a 10 to 20 percent increase or roughly about 200,000 to
400,000 in the number of passengers compared to last year.
“There usually is a high number of passenger turnout at the ports during the Holy Week because aside from those who would be visiting relatives or going on vacation in the provinces, this is also the time when school classes have ended and the students take advantage of their school break and go on vacation,” Balilo said.
Based on reports from Coast Guard field offices, the number of passengers was still normal early yesterday afternoon but volume is expected to pick up by 5 p.m. especially at the roll-on, roll-off (Roro) ports or those on the Eastern Nautical Highway and Western Nautical Highway.
The Western Nautical Highway allows passengers to use the Batangas-Calapan, Mindoro Occidental-Roxas in Mindoro Oriental-Caticlan in Aklan-Iloilo-Bacolod City-Zamboanga route.
The Eastern Nautical Highway is from Masbate-Leyte-Southern Leyte-Dinagat Island and Surigao del Norte.
Balilo advised passengers not to patronize the colorum boats that illegally operate because such vessels are not inspected by the PCG.
The illegal boats do not have lifesaving equipment on board nor the proper radio equipment necessary to call for help in case of emergency.
The PCG has cancelled all their personnel’s leaves and gave assurance that 6,000 of their personnel would be manning the seaports. The PCG has 12 districts, 60 stations and 276 sub-stations nationwide.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has directed all sectoral offices and attached agencies to be on heightened alert during Holy Week.
In a statement yesterday, the DOTr said Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade has ordered the activation of Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa 2017 to ensure the security and safety of airports, seaports and other transport hubs.
In addition, all frontline agencies have been tasked to have 24/7 operations for their action or operations centers and ensure direct communication lines with the DOTr Public Concerns Action Center.
All counters serving passengers would also be properly manned during operating hours to prevent long queues.
Officers of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) would inspect buses to ensure the safety of passengers.
To accommodate the expected increase in number of passengers, the LTFRB has issued 1,153 special permits to bus operators.
Agents of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) would also conduct an inspection of buses to ensure that operators only show movies and shows with classifications of General Audience (G) or Parental Guidance (PG) to passengers.
The MTRCB will inspect several bus terminals in Quezon City and Manila to check on the compliance of bus operators with the rules and regulations of the Board.
The Toll Regulatory Board will deploy additional personnel at toll plazas, particularly where traffic build-up is expected.
There will also be emergency medical teams, water trucks and tow trucks on standby in case of road crashes and accidents.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has committed to assist the Bureau of Immigration in managing queues at immigration counters.
There will be an MIAA management team on duty from April 8 to 16 to ensure smooth passenger flow.
To prevent congestion, a two-minute unloading rule will likewise be implemented at the airports.
The Maritime Industry Authority will conduct a random inspection until April 17 to ensure passenger ships comply with the no overloading of passengers and cargoes policy.
The Philippine Ports Authority has also directed port managers, cargo handling operators, and passenger terminal building operators to ensure the security, safety and convenience of passengers.
Meanwhile, train systems such as the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2, as well as the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, and the Philippine National Railways, are not available from April 13 to 16, for the annual maintenance work on the trains. Operations of the railways would resume on April 17.