Fewer passengers at ports on Black Saturday, says Coast Guard

Passengers await their ships at the Manila North Port Passenger Terminal in this file photo from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) monitored fewer passengers in ports nationwide on Black Saturday, compared to the past two days.

PCG recorded a total of 15,833 port passengers from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. From this figure, 8,870 were outbound passengers, while 6,963 were inbound passengers.

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This is significantly fewer than the 60,366 passengers and 20,950 passengers observed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, respectively from the same period.

Further, PCG in its latest report said that 4,760 personnel deployed in 16 PCG districts inspected 153 vessels and 56 motor bancas.

All of PCG’s districts, and sub-stations were placed on heightened alert from April 13 to April 20, 2025 to manage the influx of passengers.

The PCG also reminded the public to “coordinate with the PCG through its official Facebook page or the Coast Guard Public Affairs Service (0927-560-7729) for inquiries, concerns, and clarifications regarding sea travel protocols and regulations during the Holy Week.”

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

Meanwhile, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Wednesday said that the number of passengers in seaports nationwide could exceed the earlier projected 1.7 million.