Philippines - Passengers stuck

HUNDREDS of passengers were stranded when 21 boats were kept from leaving Cebu as typhoon Pedring unleashed rough waves and powerful gusts yesterday.

Passengers who booked tickets on Philippine Airlines (PAL) fared no better, as a ground crew walkout forced PAL to cancel all flights to or from Manila.

Expect monsoon rains and rough waves in the Western and Central Visayas seaboards today, the government weather bureau Pag-asa advised.

Pedring is expected to leave Philippine territory this afternoon, but another tropical depression is developing in its wake. As of 5 p.m., Pedring’s maximum sustained winds were 120 kilometers per hour near the center and its gusts went up to 150 kph.

The typhoon forced the stock exchange to suspend trading yesterday, and all government offices, except emergency services, called off work. The US Embassy on Roxas Blvd. will remain closed today. Rail operations, suspended because of power fluctuations during the typhoon, are scheduled to resume today.

Captain Anacleto Gabisan, officer-in-charge of the Coast Guard Cebu, said they would only allow vessels to leave once the weather improves.

“We could not risk the safety of the passengers as well as the vessels’ crews. This is for their protection, so we are canceling all operations,” said Gabisan.

Stuck

Among the vessels that were kept from sailing yesterday were the Seajet from Cebu to Tubigon, Bohol; Starcraft-1 from Cebu-Tubigon, Bohol; Supercat-30 on the Cebu-Ormoc route; Anstephen on the Cebu-Talibon, Bohol route; Melrivic 2 from Dungoan Wharf to Pingag, Isabel, Leyte; SSF-17 from Danao-Consuelo Camotes to Baybay, Leyte; LCT San Juan from Tangil, Dumanjug to Basak, Negros Oriental; Unilink-3 from Naga to Catanduanes route; and Margarita on the Bantayan-Cadiz City route.

Eight trips between Sta. Fe, Bantayan and Hagnaya wharf in mainland Cebu were also suspended yesterday. So were the trips of motorized bancas from Pilar, Cebu; Queen Paradise, on the Bantayan-Sagay City, Negros Occidental route; and Jether and Jefrey-1 on the Santander to Negros route.

A Coast Guard team from Tagbilaran, Bohol rescued a banca in Maribooc Bay, when one of the boat’s outriggers broke amid massive waves.

The Coast Guard Tagbilaran received the report at 9 p.m. Monday and arrived an hour later in the area where the Dieserose was waiting.

Skipper Bienvenido Matildo, 46, and passengers Alfredo Lagang, 46; Cheryl Matildo, 45; Joel Lagang, 46; Claro Coligeo, 26; Roy Sabadlab, 41; Naro Matildo, 54; and Arne Matild, 28, were rescued. They arrived in the port of Tagbilaran at 12:20 a.m.

Gabisan said the banca sailed to Santander from Tagbilaran, Bohol to deliver nipa. On their way back to Tagbilaran, they encountered strong winds, and passengers decided to call the Coast Guard for assistance.

No one was injured.

Monsoon

As of yesterday afternoon, the center of typhoon Pedring was spotted at 70 kilometers west northwest of Baguio City, according to the government weather bureau.

In a weather bulletin issued at 5 p.m. yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) said Pedring is expected to be at 450 kilometers west northwest of Baguio City this afternoon.

Rains in Cebu Province yesterday were brought about by the northwest monsoon or habagat, which gained strength because of the typhoon, said Alice Canasa, weather observer at Pag-asa’s Mactan, Cebu station.

Canasa, in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, said the seas are still not safe for small sea vessels, and advised people living along coastlines to be alert against big waves. She also warned fishermen not to sail.

Canasa said the country’s wind system is now in a transition period. When the northeast monsoon or amihan replaces habagat by November, typhoons will be more likely to hit the Visayas, she said.

PAL was expected to cancel flights on account of the bad weather, but was also forced to do so when unionized workers walked out.

Strike

All flights bound for or leaving Manila were called off. As of 11 p.m., it was still apologizing to passengers via its Twitter account (@flyPAL) for the flight cancellations caused by “an illegal strike.”

The airline announced it would waive all rebooking fees for the affected passengers.

Calling it a “solidarity protest”, the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) in Cebu trooped to the gate of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to support the protest being held by their counterparts in Manila.

“All the five flights of PAL for Manila (from Cebu) were cancelled after PALEA’s declaration of a work stoppage, except the first flight for Manila at 6:55 a.m. and flight PR434 for Narita, Japan,” said Dennis Derige of the Partido ng Manggagawa in Cebu.

MCIA Public Affairs Manager Mary Ann Dimabayao reported that aside from PAL, Zest Air flights to Manila were also cancelled due to bad weather.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded and trooped to PAL and Zest Air offices for ticket refunds.

Elias O. Baquero, Jill B. Tatoy and Rebelander S. Basilan

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper

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