SEVERE Tropical Storm Kristine caused up to P110 million in damage to the country’s maritime ports, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista stated Monday, citing statistics from the Philippine Ports Authority.
“In our seaports now, so far, all our seaports are open. There were minor damages in a few of our airports. The report that I got from GM Jay Santiago, is that we are estimating around 100 to 110 million pesos damage to our seaports,” Bautista stated during a briefing at the Palace.
“In Batangas, a little, there are more than 100 seaports that were damaged by Typhoon Kristine, modest damages, but in total, those repairs will cost almost a hundred million, which PPA is now working on to repair”, he added.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Monday that “Kristine” had killed 116 people and left 39 missing.
It created major floods and destruction last week, affecting more than 500,000 families. A total of 160 cities and municipalities declared a state of calamity to access additional disaster funding and freeze the pricing of basic products.
According to sources of information, the Transportation Chief said officials are handling the huge lineups of RORO passengers at the seaport from Sorsogon to Allen, Samar, which has already stretched about 30 kilometers.
“Many of our affected passengers are those in, here in Sorsogon, our seaport from Matnog, Sorsogon to Allen. Until now, there is still quite a long line of people boarding the RoRo from Matnog to Allen. But, we are working closely with all the authorities, so that the transportation of the vehicles is facilitated,” Bautista said, adding that operations of the seaport may take until the weekend to normalize.
He instructed bus operators to watch the circumstances before sending their buses to Bicol. Bautista suggested that bus operators use alternative routes to the Visayas, particularly given the predicted surge in travel for All Saints Day.
“We have alternative modes of transportation, those trips from Cebu, those who want to travel by boat or by ship going to the Visayas, they can via Batangas, because there are RoRo services from Batangas going to Caticlan or from Batangas to Mindoro, to Roxas and Bulalacao. And there is also a Roro from that place going to Caticlan. And from there, those buses can travel to Iloilo and even to Bacolod and Cebu,” he stated.
Bautista expects that 3 million Filipinos will visit airports and seaports, as well as 1 million to 1.5 million passengers at bus terminals.
“The Department of Transportation, together with the other attached agencies the CAAP, the PPA, MIAA, the Cebu International Airport, we are getting ready for the Undas trip. We have, every year, we have this Oplan Biyaheng Ayos, for our riders. So, let’s get ready, the Philippine Coast Guard will also help us there,” he proceeded.
