Travelers face long queues to get tickets at Batangas port

Wide spaces and vacant seats can be seen inside the Batangas port, but the booths are teeming with people wanting to buy tickets for their Holy Week destinations.

According to Andrew Bernardo's report on "24 Oras," over 200,000 passengers are expected to crowd Batangas Port for the entire week.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) in Batangas said that on Monday, around 10,000 passengers flocked to the port, which is half of the expected 20,000 per day. It said it expects the influx of passengers on Wednesday.

However, passengers had to wait longer due to the long queue to purchase a ticket, while some had to wait over six hours due to delayed ships.

"Delay ang procedure, walang advise kasiguruhan ba, dapat sana may advise, delay talaga ang barko wala naman silang sinasabi eh,” said Richard Hermano, a passenger.

"Kasi ang may problema dyan ang port ng Caticlan, ginagawa ang isang pier, imbes na pwedeng magsabay yung mga barko, isa-isa so magkakaroon ng delay, so kung nagkaroon ng delay sa pagdikit, automatic magkakaroon ng delay sa pag-alis,” Batangas port manager, Joselito Sinocruz explained.

Meanwhile, the ferries to Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, and Romblon were smooth and quick. The passenger terminal is spacious, but the ticketing line is long.

"Kapag hindi Holy Week, five minutes lang ngayong Holy Week one hour na,” said a passenger.

The PPA said it continues to call on shipping lines for additional tellers in the ticketing area, which remains manual since there is no online ticketing system.

"Yung sistema na ipinatupad nila hindi pa reliable at dependable, kaya sa totoong buhay ikanga dito sa Batangas, wala pa talagang online, manual talaga,” Sinocruz added.

PPA advised passengers to travel earlier to avoid the possible crowd of passengers on Wednesday.

It also reminded the passengers of prohibited items or goods, such as pork products, flammable materials, and sharp objects.

Moreover, to ensure the safety of passengers, the authorities inspected the port and the bus terminal in Batangas.—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News