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MANILA, Philippines — The number of passengers in seaports across the country has reached pre-COVID levels during the Christmas rush, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said Saturday.
For example, the port of Batangas logged 25,000 passengers on December 23 while in Sorsogon, long queues of travelers have also been observed, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said.
“Naka-reach na tayo ng pre-pandemic levels natin,” he said in an interview over ABS CBN’s TeleRadyo.
(We have reached pre-pandemic levels.)
He said the volume of passengers is expected to decrease on Saturday, December 24, but it is expected to pick up again on January 2 when those who went to the provinces return to Metro Manila.
“Ine-expect namin na [sa] January 2, magbabalikan na ‘yan dahil sa January 3 may pasok na,” he said.
(We expect that people will travel back to Metro Manila on January 2 because the resumption of work is on January 3.)
The PPA chief, meanwhile, expressed hope that those who are still traveling to their provinces on Saturday will make it in time for Christmas.
He lamented the lack of available ships that can service travelers during the Christmas rush, pointing out that there are passengers who were forced to go overnight in ports as they wait for trips.
“Sana ay magkaroon ng sapat nang masasakyan na barko para makauwi ang mga kababayan natin. Generally speaking, medyo kulang talaga ang mga barkong lumalayag considering na tayo ay isang archipelago,” Santiago said.
(We hope there would be enough ships so that our travellers will be able to reach their destinations. Generally speaking, we do lack ships considering that we are in an archipelago.)
“Isang na-notice natin ay ‘yung mga barkong bumabagtas sa ating mga pantalan, medyo mabagal din ang takbo nila kaya tumatagal din ang biyahe. Mabagal din ‘yung balik para makarami sila ng trip,” he said.
(One of the things we noticed is the ships, they somewhat run slow that’s why trips take longer. Their return also takes time to be able to make more trips.)
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