The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) logged almost 2.3 million passengers in its managed ports nationwide during the Holy Week from April 12 to 20.

In a statement on Monday, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said the number of 2,291,666 passengers recorded is a 37.14 percent increase from the 1,670,984 passengers from the same period last year.

He attributed the increase to the Holy Week coinciding with the summer vacation and the effective promotion of local tourist destinations.

“Makikita niyo dyan ‘yung ating #PPAsyalTayo campaign na pinapakita natin ‘yung mga tourist destinations na accessible sa mga ports natin na maaari silang maglayag at dumaan sa mga ports natin (You can see through our #PPAsyalTayo campaign that tourist destinations are accessible through our ports, they can sail and pass through our ports),” Santiago said.

Among the Port Management Offices (PMO) with the highest number of passengers were PMO Batangas, PMO Panay/Guimaras, PMO Mindoro, PMO Negros Oriental/Siquijor, and PMO Bohol.

“These PMOs managed high passenger throughput across their areas of responsibility, especially during peak travel days such as Holy Wednesday and Holy Thursday,” he said.

He thanked port stakeholders, government agencies, and passengers for their cooperation that led to the success of the Holy Week operation.

“Saludo po tayo mula sa mga port workers hanggang sa mga partners natin sa maritime industry gaya ng mga shipping lines (We salute port workers and our partners in the maritime industry, such as shipping lines), local and national government agencies, and of course the riding public for their patience and for choosing seaports as their means of transport,” he said.

Santiago acknowledged that there are still some areas of improvement in port operations, particularly in managing long queues in select terminals.

“Moving forward, the agency will continue to enhance coordination with shipping lines, review port traffic management plans, and the rollout of digital solutions such as the Electronic Terminal Management System which is also the priority of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon to be up and running by the end of the year,” he said. (PNA)