ILOILO CITY -- A total of 288 passengers had been stranded in the different port terminals in Iloilo city and province after boat trips were cancelled Monday evening.
Lt. Rodolfo dela Peña, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Iloilo, said Tuesday that boat trips were cancelled following the hoisting of Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal (TCWS) No. 1 over the provinces of Negros Occidental, Guimaras, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique on Monday evening.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, dela Peña said 211 passengers were stranded in Dumangas port, 59 at the Milagrosa Shipping Terminal in Lapuz, and 18 at the Iloilo Ferry Terminal, also in Lapuz.
Dela Peña said they have already coordinated with concerned port terminals to provide assistance, especially food, to passengers.
Meanwhile, boat trips in Iloilo bound for Guimaras and vice versa are ongoing.
“Their operations continue as the weather is still manageable despite the Storm Warning Signal No. 1 here,” he said.
Dela Peña said they were continuously monitoring weather updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
He said they would resume the boat trips once the TCWS is lifted.
The 2 p.m. weather advisory of Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 6 (Western Visayas) stated that “Basyang” has made landfall in Cortes, Surigao del Sur and has weakened into a tropical depression.
“Sea travel remains risky over the seaboards under TCWS, as well as the seaboard of northern Luzon and Visayas and eastern seaboards of central Luzon, and the eastern and southern seaboards of southern Luzon, and the northern and eastern seaboards of Mindanao due to tropical depression and the surge of the northeast monsoon,” the advisory added.
Aklan, Capiz, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental in this region remain under TCWS No. 1 as of this posting.
Dela Peña advised small fishermen not to venture into fishing for their safety. (PNA)
Photo by Cindy Ferrer
