Noche Buena at ports for over 12,000 passengers

MANILA, Philippines – Over 12,000 passengers greeted Christmas Day in seaports in Bicol and Eastern Visayas after being stranded due to Typhoon Nina. 

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) recorded a total of 12,673 persons who either had Noche Buena or spent Christmas yesterday in the seaports of typhoon-affected provinces.

Local government officers in Bicol were also having a hard time convincing many of their constituents to evacuate as people were focused on family celebrations and travel.

With Christmas as the country’s longest celebration, people were on holiday mood and many refused to leave their houses.

Gov. Miguel Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, which is on the typhoon’s forecast path, offered “lechon” (roast pig), a popular Christmas delicacy, in evacuation centers to entice villagers to move to emergency shelters.

“I know it’s Christmas ...but this is a legit typhoon,” Villafuerte tweeted on Christmas Eve. “Please evacuate, we’ll be having lechon at evacuation centers.”

The officials targeted about 50,000 families — some 250,000 people — for evacuation by Saturday night, but the number of those who responded was far below expectations.

In Catanduanes province, Vice Gov. Shirley Abundo said she has ordered a forced evacuation of villagers, saying some “are really hard-headed, they don’t want to leave their houses because it’s Christmas.”

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which helps oversee government response during disasters, said only about 4,200 people were reported to have moved to six evacuation centers by Sunday morning in the Bicol region that includes Camarines Sur.

It expects more people to heed evacuation orders as the weather begins to deteriorate.

“It’s difficult to force celebrations when our lives will be put at risk. Please prioritize safety and take heed of warnings by local government units,” DSWD officer Felino Castro told The Associated Press by telephone.

He said food, water and other emergency supplies had been pre-positioned in areas expected to be hit by the typhoon.

A total of 53 vessels, which were to accommodate 1,129 roll-on, roll-off (RORO) buses, and six motor bancas were prevented from sailing due to rough seas since Saturday.

As of 4 a.m. on Christmas Day, at least 11,400 passengers remained stranded in seaports along with 1,094 RORO buses and 32 vessels.

Most of the stranded passengers were found in the ports of Albay, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Masbate, Camarines Sur and Allen town in Samar.

As of 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the PCG listed a total of 78,308 affected passengers, a figure that ballooned from only 5,723 four hours earlier.

At 8 p.m., the PCG also canceled trips from Batangas port, which further added to the number of stranded passengers nationwide.