Pinoys pitch tents in Baguio as hotels, inns fully booked for New Year's Eve celeb

With many Filipinos coming to Baguio for the New Year's eve celebration, hotels, inns and transient houses were fully booked for the holidays.

Due to the influx of tourists, some Filipinos decided to pitch tents instead, as reported by James Agustin for 24 Oras on  Monday.

"Fully booked na talaga kaya no choice na kami. Nag-tent na lang kami. Ang haba ng nilakad namin almost three hours," Jing Lucas, a tourist, said.

Meanwhile, the Baguio City Tourism Office said tourists are temporarily allowed to stay in tents due to the influx of visitors every year.

"It's something that we will have to discuss with our city officials. Not only that because we have the Parks Management Office. They have to take care of their own safety and security while we have a lot of roving police," Baguio City tourism officer Alec Mapalo said.

The heavy influx of tourists also resulted in monstrous traffic jams around Burnham Park, Leonard Woord Road and Session Road.

Moreover, selling and lighting firecrackers are not allowed in the city.

The local government of Baguio is also strictly implementing its anti-littering ordinance ahead of the celebration.

"Ang appeal lang namin talaga is for us to have our own responsibility and discipline ourselves in maintaining the cleanliness," Mapalo said. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BAP, GMA News