Batangas port (File photo by MARICAR CINCO / Inquirer Southern Luzon)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) reported on Thursday that holiday season travel peaked on Dec. 18 with the country’s seaports recording around 50,000 passengers.
The week before that, the daily average number of passengers was only 29,000, PPA spokesperson Eunice Samonte said at the Laging Handa public briefing.
The agency expects the total number of passengers in seaports nationwide to hit 57 million for the whole of 2022, compared to 22 million during the previous year.
Samonte said that as of Thursday, they have yet to report any disruption or cancellation of passenger trips as she advised people with travel plans for the holidays to book their tickets now to avoid any inconvenience.
In case the volume of passengers significantly goes up, the PPA has coordinated with the Marine Industry Authority for the deployment of more seacraft, she added.
As for security, Samonte said there were more than 3,000 port police officers and security officers deployed at all seaports, particularly the two busiest — Manila North Harbor and Batangas port.
Security preparations, which have been coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard, will use a “template” similar to the one used for the All Saints’ Day long weekend, she said.