The Department of Transportation (DoTr) has ordered the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to deploy additional ships from Lucena ports to ease the holiday passenger surge to Romblon.

“We have received many complaints from passengers who have no available boats from Lucena to Romblon,” Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said on Tuesday.

“The lines in Lucena are very long because there are not enough ships. I have instructed Marina to act immediately and add more ships so our fellow citizens can get home quickly,” he added.

Lopez noted that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) had already requested Marina a few days ago to allow more vessels on the route in anticipation of the holiday rush.

“Every year we have a holiday rush. This is not new. They should have planned early and anticipated any shortage and the surge of people returning home,” Lopez said.

He emphasized that authorities must prioritize passenger comfort and convenience, and he will ask Marina why planning fell short despite the annual demand, calling the situation unfair to travelers and in need of investigation.

In addition, Lopez directed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to have vessels ready to ferry stranded passengers for free.

“There are 600 passengers in Lucena going to Marinduque. They were able to board a newly arrived ship with a 900-passenger capacity. For Romblon, we are monitoring the situation. In case there are still not enough ships, I have instructed Admiral Gavan to prepare the BRP Gabriela Silang of the Philippine Coast Guard to provide free rides for passengers to Romblon,” he said.

As of noon of 23 December, the Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog counted 10,051 outbound passengers and 9,879 inbound passengers.