Philippine Coast Guard commandant Admiral Artemio Abu has heightened the alert status for the upcoming observance of Undas 2022, directing all his men to monitor the situation in all nautical highway routes, especially in the Visayas region.

The heightened alert status will start from 24 October to 3 November as the PCG expects port passengers to be with their families in the provinces during All Souls' Day.

As visitors are expected to flock to tourist destinations in the country since it's a long weekend following the announcement of President Ferdinand Marcos declaring 31 October as a special non-working holiday, the PCG official said that they are launching monitoring activities.

"Our PCG Districts conduct 24/7 operations to monitor nautical highways routes, especially in the Visayas where the majority of tourist destinations are situated. I have instructed concerned units to ensure maritime security and safety in our western and eastern seaboards, as well as inter-island routes," Abu said.

"Our deployable response groups and PCG Auxiliary volunteers are also augmenting these operations," he added.

Western seaboard monitoring includes Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, Iloilo, and Zamboanga regions while the eastern seaboard monitoring covers Manila, Bicol region, Samar, Leyte and Surigao provinces.

"We have maritime safety inspectors in port terminals, law enforcement teams in strategic locations, maritime patrol teams in critical vicinity waters, and DRGs on standby for possible search and rescue missions during maritime incidents or emergencies," Abu said.

The PCG is also intensifying its operations with the Philippine Ports Authority and the Maritime Industry Authority in performing vessel safety and security inspections on board, as well as in reminding port passengers to wear their face masks to control the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Coast Guard units are also conducting foot patrols in major port terminals and tourist destinations to continuously remind the general public to stay alert at all times and to provide further assistance.

"We encourage our port passengers and tourists to remain vigilant during their trip and to report to authorities any suspicious baggage or person for immediate action," Abu said.