MANILA, Philippines - Even with the threat of another strong typhoon, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos thronged bus and ferry terminals Friday heading to their home provinces to pay respects to dead relatives on All Saints? Day.

Authorities have advised against traveling to the provinces and called on people to suspend their visits to cemeteries where they could be trapped by floods or traffic as the country braced for Typhoon ?Santi,? the fourth strong typhoon to hit the country in five weeks.

But with the weather still clear Friday, few heeded the call and passengers could be seen queueing at the bus terminals, bearing bags, boxes and other belongings, wanting to beat Santi before it hit.

?So what if there?s a storm? It?s just once a year and this is the only way that I can honor my dead relatives so that they?d know that I still love them,? said a determined woman passenger waiting for a ride to Baguio at the Araneta Center bus terminal in Cubao.

The Coast Guard suspended all ferry services in Luzon yesterday, resulting in about 4,000 people being left stranded in several key ports in the Bicol region and Southern Luzon, including Batangas and Oriental Mindoro.

The Cubao police station commander, Supt. Ferdinand Ampil, observed that the lines at the bus terminals this year seemed to be shorter than in previous years.

?The turnout of people is lower. It?s not as big as in the past. There are fewer lines, I think, because they are having second thoughts about going home,? he said.

Ampil, who has been making the rounds of the Araneta Center terminal and other bus stations on Edsa since Wednesday, said people probably fear being stranded and unable to return to their jobs in the capital.