Passengers at the terminal building of Calapan port wait to board their vessels in this photo taken on Good Friday, April 7. (Photo courtesy of Oriental Mindoro PDRRMO)
CITY OF CALAPAN — At least 11,333 people, 1,730 rolling cargoes and private vehicles entered this port from Holy Wednesday to Good Friday, according to the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Disaster Reduction Management Office.
Ram Joseph Temeña, local disaster risk reduction management officer IV, said the number was lower than the 33,000 passengers logged during the same period last year.
But he said they expected more tourists to arrive at the port area during the weekend.
Calapan hosts the country’s largest passenger terminal building, inaugurated last month.
Temeña said they had been on red alert to ensure the safety of the passengers taking advantage of the long vacation and missing their Holy Week traditions because of the pandemic.
Data also showed that a large number of local and foreign tourists have arrived in Oriental Mindoro’s Puerto Galera town, the only locality that was not covered by the declaration of the state of calamity issued by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on March 31 following the oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress.
Oriental Mindoro’s Naujan town had a “moderate number” of visitors who spent the holiday in different churches for the Visita Iglesia.
The local government of Naujan announced that swimming in the rivers and waterfalls would only be allowed until 6 p.m. for safety reasons unless tourists and visitors were allowed by the village officials to have an overnight stay.
Baco town saw many local tourists visiting its rivers and resorts. The other towns in the province have a “minimum to moderate” number of guests, records showed.
With the swimming ban still in effect in most of the coastal villages in the province, people turned to rivers, waterfalls, resort pools, food trips, and the local heritage museum to spend the holiday.
The Department of Trade and Industry in Oriental Mindoro reminded the public of the ongoing price freeze on necessities in areas covered by the state of calamity, noting that there were enough supplies.
In Calapan City, where the no-plastic ordinance is being strictly imposed despite drawing mixed reactions, people have brought their eco-bags while stores continued using paper containers for compliance. INQ