Over 560,000 passengers are expected to pass through ports in and out of Cebu for the Christmas season, and on to the New Year revelry.  

According to the Cebu Port Authority (CPA), the influx of passengers started on Friday, December 19, 2025. 

The family of Jovy Cortes are among thousands of passengers. The family is bound for Ormoc City. 

Jovy is a “balikbayan" from the United States of America. She said he tried his best to come home for Christmas. 

While in Cebu, she tried again her best to line up for tickets on December 21 to get to Ormoc City quick. However, because of the long queue, the family decided to book online. 

Booking is among the advisories of CPA, on preferably transacting online in advance instead of walk-in purchasing of tickets. 

The “Oplan Byaheng Ayos” for the Christmas season was started by the CPA on December 20 and will be implemented until January 4, 2026. 

Through the said operational plan, Malasakit help desks are mounted, while medical responders and police personnel are deployed at ports for urgent assistance and response to passengers. 

Port police, security officers, and K9 units are deployed for detection of explosives and narcotics. 

Tight security is implemented in screening travelers in and out of terminals at piers in anticipation of the exodus of passengers.

The number of passengers in December 2025 is expected to surpass the recorded number of travelers in 2024, in and out of Cebu ports. 

Further, with the anticipated surge, passengers are warned against dealing with scalpers or persons who resell tickets at a large or quick profit.