Passengers continue to flock at PITX, bus terminals on Maundy Thursday

Many people are still traveling back to their provinces this Maundy Thursday, but the number of passengers has decreased at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange compared to the volume yesterday.

According to Marisol Abdurahman’s Thursday report on “24 Oras,” the number of passengers at PITX reached 138,000 as of 6 p.m.

Passenger Samantha de Chaves said she did not expect the current situation to be more relaxed compared last March 31 when she bought her ticket.

Meanwhile, Noe Rosco and his friends from Northern Samar opted to secure tickets for their trip after the Holy Week to avoid the crowd.

Long queues were observed at a bus terminal in EDSA Kamias, Quezon City, with some passengers waiting as early as 2 a.m. for a trip to Quezon Province.

Jonathan Dolosa and his family are deciding if they will push through with their travel after transferring from one bus terminal to another just to reach their destination.

According to the bus dispatcher, they have extra bus units being deployed, but the passengers have been pouring in since yesterday.

The same situation was observed at a bus terminal in Cubao along EDSA.

Some of the passengers have been waiting for three hours just to secure a trip to their destination.

The long lines did not hamper Janice Locsin from returning to her province just to be with her family for the Holy Week. 

At Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, some passengers could not believe there were fewer travelers compared to previous years.

There were also many Overseas Filipino Workers departing the country.

Strict security is being implemented in airports and bus terminals despite the decrease in the number of passengers.

Passengers are expected to continue arriving at PITX on Good Friday, though the crowd is expected to be lighter than today.

No untoward incidents were reported at PITX. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA News