Pasig River ferry service open, but only to frontliners

LIMITED RIDERSHIP Ferry boats plying Pasig River are back in operation but only healthcare workers and government employees can come onboard. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Despite Metro Manila being under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), resulting in a ban on all forms of public transport, the Pasig River Ferry Service will remain open, but only to serve healthcare workers and government employees.

The ferry service reopened for the first time since March on Monday, a day before President Duterte placed the capital and nearby provinces under MECQ after a plea for a two-week “time-out” from medical front-liners who had been feeling overwhelmed by the rising number of new coronavirus disease cases.

Instead of suspending the ferry service, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Danny Lim said it would continue to operate “to (help) healthcare workers and government employees in their transportation needs going to their respective workplaces.”

For now, the ferry service operations would be limited to the following stations: Pinagbuhatan, San Joaquin, Guadalupe, Valenzuela, Lawton and Escolta. The boats would ply the following routes: Pinagbuhatan to Guadalupe, Guadalupe to Escolta and vice versa, and Guadalupe to San Joaquin and vice versa.

Riders need only to present valid identification cards to avail of the free rides from Monday to Saturday, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Only those between 21 and 59 years old age would be allowed onboard but they must wear masks and observe physical distancing at all times. They would also be asked to fill out a contact tracing sheet before boarding.