Holy Week 2018

The Department of Transportation reports that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines did not report any untoward aircraft or airport incident nor passenger in the airports and facilities.

This was despite the heavy volume of passengers returning home.

Traffic remains light on the North Luzon Expressway, tollway operator NLEX Corp says.

Thousands of Metro Manila residents are expected to start returning from the provinces as the long weekend winds down

As of 1:20 PM, fast moving on both NB and SB. Light traffic at toll plazas and interchanges. <No Tailgating> pic.twitter.com/2rYPAyrxWn

— NLEX Corporation (@NLEXexpressways) April 1, 2018

There are 24,692 people at ports across the country as the Lenten break ends, the Philippine Coast Guard reports.

The latest figure comes from ports monitoring from midnight to 6 a.m. of Sunday, April 1.

Pope Francis is asking forgiveness for a host of shameful sins, apologizing for those who seek power, money, ambition and vanity, the Associated Press reports

At the end of the Good Friday Via Crucis procession at Rome's Colosseum, Francis offered a brief meditation of his own, full of what he said was "shame, repentance and hope."

He begged forgiveness for the shame of leaving future generations a world "fractured by divsions and wars, devoured by egoism where young people, the sick and the elderly are marginalized."

But he also prayed for hope that the Catholic Church continues to be an "arc of salvation, a source of certainty and truth."

Sea travelers continue to swarm in ports nationwide on Black Saturday. 

More than 10,000 travelers fill ports as Holy Week exodus continues, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
 

A procession is ongoing in Manila following Good Friday services. Images of Jesus carrying the cross—often replicas of the Black Nazarene—are carried by different groups of devotees, including children who carry a smaller version of the venerated image.

WATCH: Children carrying the image of the Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno in a #GoodFriday procession in Manila #HolyWeek2018 @PhilippineStar @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/4FLKYanuVd

— Alexis B. Romero (@alexisbromero) March 30, 2018

The Vatican has had to seal off part of St. Peter's Basilica after some chunks of plaster fell during the height of the Easter holiday season.

No one was injured by the falling plaster, which rained down Thursday near Michelangelo's famed Pieta statue to the right of the main entrance.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke says repairmen are working to secure the site and the basilica remained open. He says it will re-open as regular on Friday.

Holy Week sees floods of pilgrims and tourists visiting St. Peter's, taking part in Pope Francis' ceremonies, which are capped by Easter Sunday celebrations outside in St. Peter's Square. — AP

Pope Francis is urging priests to be spiritually close to their flocks and not insist on preaching laws when they sin, the Associated Press reports.

Francis issued the guidance during Holy Thursday Mass, which is meant to show the unity of the Catholic Church during its most solemn, pre-Easter period.

In his homily, Francis warns priests to not be tempted to insist on church law and doctrine when preaching, since that can distance ordinary faithful from Jesus.

The traffic authority of Makati City says some roads will be closed in Poblacion area in observance of the Holy Week.

View the traffic re-routing scheme here:

ADVISORY: Poblacion Lenten Traffic Re-routing Scheme, March 24 to April 1, 2018. https://t.co/FxgCwfJZDH #MakatiTraffic pic.twitter.com/s3Uc1F0LY2

— MakatiTraffic (@MakatiTraffic) March 29, 2018

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announces the suspension of the number coding scheme starting 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28, for private vehicles in Metro Manila. The suspension, however, does not cover Makati and Las Piñas.

Number coding for Metro Manila and provincial buses are also lifted starting 12 a.m on Wednesday.

Expect cloudy skies with rains and thunderstorms this Holy Week in Eastern Visayas and Caraga due to the effects of Tropical Storm Jelawat, PAGASA weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio says.

Metro Manila, on the other hand, can expect good weather with isolated light rains due to the northeast monsoon.

"Jelawat" is forecast to enter the Philippine area of responsibility today or tomorrow and will be assigned the local name "Caloy." The tropical storm, however, is less likely to make landfall.

"Jelawat" is expected to move northwest and then northward towards Japan.