Daily Tribune
ON ALERT. A Philippine Coast Guard troop checks passengers at the Balingoan Port in Misamis Oriental province on Wednesday 27 March 2024. The PCG is working with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to address the expected influx of passengers in maritime gateways for the Holy Week.
Photo courtesy of PCG
No untoward maritime incidents have so far been recorded during the Holy Week, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said on Sunday.
“While it’s a good news, we don’t want to be complacent, we will do everything to implement security measures in place since the beginning of the Holy Week so that we won’t log any maritime accident,” Balilo said in a radio interview.
Balilo said that people may expect “quite delays” of travel in ports since the influx of passengers is expected as many will be going back to work.
“But it will be manageable,” Balilo assured.
He noted that they are strictly imposing measures against the overloading of passengers boarding motor bancas and other maritime vessels to prevent possible accidents.
The PCG has monitored 69,161 outbound passengers and 51,402 inbound passengers in all ports nationwide, as of Saturday noon.
