PPA estimates 5.1M sea travelers for holiday season

The Philippine Ports Authority is anticipating a total of 5.1 million people to flock to seaports across the country for the 2023 holiday season, up from 4.7 million passengers recorded last year, according to a ''24 Oras Weekend'' report by Paul Hernandez on Saturday.

Passengers kept coming to Batangas Port as ships were free to depart as soon as they were full.

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 16,000 passengers had been recorded at Batangas Port.

Meanwhile, the Port of Lucena in Quezon has served more than 2,000 passengers bound for Romblon and Marinduque since midnight.

The Philippine Coast Guard has stationed personnel inside and outside ports and has requested ship operators to refrain from overloading passenger ships. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News