LUCENA CITY –– An official of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) here advised Marinduque-bound travelers to wait for the go signal from concerned government agencies to avoid being stranded at the local port here.
“It is the call of nature. We all have to wait for the go signal from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to allow the ships to travel,” Aileen Baladad, PPA senior terminal operation officer, told the Inquirer.
Baladad advised travelers to return to their places of origin “where it is safer than here at the port.”
At least 1,000 passengers have been stranded in Lucena port here since Monday night after the PCG suspended sea travel to Marinduque due to Severe Tropical Storm “Ursula.”
Baladad said some 600 passengers were staying inside the Talao-Talao port terminal building, while at least 400 were staying inside the covered basketball court of the nearby Barangay Dalahican and outside the closed steel gate of the road leading to the port.