ILOILO City – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Western Visayas recorded 612,259 sea passengers from April 2 until Sunday noon, April 9.
Of this number, 259,915 were outbound passengers and 353,064 were inbound.
Outbound passengers were those leaving the concerned province in the region while inbound passengers were those entering the province.
Here is the breakdown of outbound passengers per province:
* Antique – 2,237
* Aklan – 27,724
* Iloilo – 107, 332
* Capiz – 1,138
* Guimaras – 80,458
* Negros Occidental – 41,026
The number of inbound passengers per province:
* Antique – 2,215
* Aklan – 141,050
* Iloilo – 96,473
* Capiz – 1,468
* Guimaras – 73,912
* Negros Occidental – 37,946
Lieutenant Commander Jansen Benjamin, PCG-Western Visayas spokesperson, said more inbound and outbound passengers were registered from Aklan, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental as tourist destinations and Holy Week activities in these provinces were also increasing.
Aklan, where Boracay Island is located, had more than 140,000 inbound passengers, both local and foreign tourists. In Guimaras, it would be the Lenten play “Ang Pagtaltal sa Balaan Bukid” and its beaches. Iloilo and Negros Occidental are also abundant with beaches.
“The overall assessment is very peaceful (despite the volume of sea passengers),” Benjamin told Panay News yesterday.
The PCG, Philippine National Police (PNP), other government agencies, and concerned local government units (LGUs) managed the queue of passengers at the ports, especially at the Parola wharf in Iloilo City and Jordan wharf in Guimaras.
The PCG has not listed major maritime incidents in the region, except in Boracay Island, where a hotel-owned speedboat collided with a fishing boat owned by Ernesto Coching, chief of the Malaynon Ati Tribe Association, in Sitio Angol, Barangay Manoc-manoc, on April 5.
Coching’s body was found on Saturday, April 8.
During the Holy Week, no deadly weapons or illegal drugs were recovered from sea passengers, Benjamin added, which was in part a result of the PCG’s information and education campaign.
More than 300 PCG personnel are currently deployed in different ports of the region to assist passengers.
Beginning April 2, the PCG was placed on heightened alert to ensure the safety of travelers in the region. They will remain in their posts until April 10.
The PCG launched “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos” together with the PNP, Philippine Ports Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, and other security forces.
It established help desks and medical teams at the ports, too.
Additional K9 units were deployed in ports like Dumangas Port in Dumangas, Iloilo; Caticlan Port in Malay, Aklan; Parola wharf in Iloilo City; San Carlos Port in Negros Occidental; and Bredco Port in Bacolod City to ensure that no deadly weapons or contraband could be smuggled./PN
