No leave policy for PPA frontliners on Holy Week; over 2.2 M passengers expected at docks
MANILA, Philippines — With over 2.2 million passengers expected at seaports nationwide during the Holy Week, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Thursday announced that it will enforce a “no leave policy” in all of its operated facilities.
The PPA in a statement said it also placed its ports on heightened alert, ordering the maximum deployment of its personnel.
“Naka heightened alert po ang ating mga security personnel at kanselado po ang lahat ng filed leaves ng mga PPA personnel na nasa frontline services ngayong Semana Santa upang masiguradong matutugunan ang pangangailangan ng mga pasaherong dadagsa sa ating mga pantalan,” said PPA General Manager Jay Santiago.
(Our security personnel are on heightened alert and all the filed leaves of PPA personnel who are on the frontline services this Semana Santa have been canceled to ensure that the needs of the passengers who will flock to portsvare met.)
These policies, said PPA, will be implemented from April 3 (Palm Sunday) to 10, or a day after Easter Sunday.
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to PPA, it expects the number of passengers to reach over 2.2 million this Holy Week, which is significantly higher than the 1.3 million in 2022.
Article continues after this advertisementThe PPA reminded passengers to plan their trip in advance and avoid last minute bookings to avoid inconvenience and delays especially when the docks are crowded.
The PPA has a total of 25 Port Management Offices, managing more than 120 ports nationwide.
The Holy Week starts on April 2 (Palm Sunday) and will end on April 9 (Easter Sunday).