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Thousands flock to country's ports as Holy Week exodus continues

Audrey Morallo - Philstar.com
Thousands flock to country's ports as Holy Week exodus continues

On Wednesday night, the Coast Guard monitored nearly a hundred thousand passengers in Philippine ports as many head out to the provinces. Edd Gumban, file

MANILA, Philippines — Almost 35,000 passengers were at ports across the country Thursday, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, as Filipinos trooped to transportation hubs to travel to their home provinces and spend Holy Week with families.
 
According to the Philippine Coast Guard, a total of 34,923 outbound passengers were monitored in the country’s different ports early Thursday. 
 
 
On Wednesday night, the Coast Guard monitored nearly a hundred thousand passengers in Philippine ports as many would like to take advantage of the four-day vacation to reflect and be with their loved ones. Many others use the break to visit tourist destinations in the Philippines.
 
In some bus stations, long queues were seen spilling onto streets and passengers waiting for hours for their trips home.
 
 
Expressways were also choking with vehicles Wednesday night, but the situation improved by Thursday morning as traffic ranged from light to moderate.
 
 
The Holy Week exodus has been an annual occurrence in the Philippines, where a majority identify as Catholic.
 
This mass movement of people has also led to a spike in road accidents as transportation vehicles in the Philippines are poorly maintained and rules are loosely observed.
 
On Wednesday, seven people were killed while four others were hurt when a truck plowed through a road side eating joint in Batangas province south of Manila.
 
This came days after a bus fell off a road and plunged into a ravine in Occidental Mindoro, also south of Manila, killing 19 people and hurting 21 others.
 
President Rodrigo Duterte has since ordered a crackdown on spurious transportation companies and transport officials in recent days visited bus stations, seaports and airports to inspect the safety of their vehicles and vessels. 

vuukle comment

HOLY WEEK

PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

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