PPA: Passengers at seaports could exceed 1.7 million this Holy Week

Philippine Coast Guard personnel guard a seaport terminal in Manila. The Maritime Industry Authority has ordered a shipping line to explain the alleged overloading of passengers during a trip from Batangas to Romblon on April 13, 2025. — Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The number of passengers at local seaports nationwide this Holy Week could exceed the earlier projected 1.7 million, according to Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) spokesperson Eunice Samonte.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday, Samonte said the tally of port passengers as of Wednesday morning was at 800,000.

“Right now, our monitoring is that we’re almost close to a million passengers. From April 12 [through] this Holy Monday, Tuesday, we’re at 800,000 plus. Our expected passengers [are] 1.7 million passengers across the ports nationwide, but just today, Wednesday, we’re at 800,000 plus,” Samonte said in Filipino.

“It means we can exceed our forecast. Maybe tomorrow, we’ll hit a million because there will be more passengers tonight than tomorrow, so that’s what we’re expecting,” she added.

Earlier, the PPA said they expected a significant surge with a 3.5 percent increase in passengers from 1.67 million in 2024 to 1.7 million in 2025 from April 14 to April 20.

READ: Passenger traffic at seaports up 10%

PPA General Manager Jay Santiago previously said they were anticipating a substantial increase in passenger volume in 2025 compared to the same period last year, as more Filipinos take advantage of sea travel to visit their provinces, pilgrimage sites, and vacation destinations.

PPA likewise identified the following as “top ports” during the Lenten season:

• The Port Management Offices (PMO) of Batangas
• PMO Mindoro
• PMO Panay/Guimaras
• PMO Negros Oriental/ Siquijor
• PMO Bohol