Coast Guard allows stranded passengers to leave Samar ports

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday allowed 481 passengers on 54 buses to leave two ports in Northern Samar where they had been stranded since Monday when the authorities suspended ferry crossings in light of the approach of Typhoon Pedring, the Office of Civil Defense said.

According to reports from the regional OCD office, all 481 passengers were bound for Luzon and had been stranded at the Dapdap Port in Allen and Looc Port in San Isidro.

The Coast Guard had prohibited the sailing of the ferries between Northern Samar and Matnog, Sorsogon on Monday. The OCD said, however, that the passengers were allowed to leave the two ports at around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The OCD said typhoon did not cause any serious damage in  Eastern Visayas.

Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Maranon Jr. on Tuesday said Negros occidental has not been affected by the rains.

But three Philippine Airlines  flights with 341 passengers were canceled because of a ground crew strike in Manila, PAL Bacolod manager Fernando Bermejo said.

PAL re-booked or transferred passengers to other airlines, he said.

With a report from Carla Gomez, Inquirer Visayas