More than 130,000 passengers flock to ports on Easter Sunday morning

MANILA, Philippines — More than 130,000 passengers flocked to different ports across the country on Easter Sunday morning, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

From 6:00 a.m. to noon of Sunday, the PCG said it logged 74,250 outbound passengers and 59,107 inbound passengers in ports nationwide.

The PCG has deployed 2,798 frontline personnel in 15 of its districts to inspect 418 vessels and 1,811 motorbancas.

The Coast Guard placed its districts, stations and sub-stations on heightened alert to manage the expected influx of passengers during the Holy Week from April 2 to 10.

It said this status will also cover the period of summer vacation, until end of May, when local tourists are expected to travel by sea for recreational purposes.

As early as Holy Wednesday, some offices declared half day work to give way to Filipinos coming home to provinces to celebrate Holy Week with their families.

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday were declared regular holidays, with Black Saturday declared as special non-working day.

Day of Valor fell on Easter Sunday, but President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. declared April 10 as holiday in the spirit of “holiday economics” or to allow Filipinos have more time to spend with their families, which in turn spurs the economy. — Kristine Joy Patag