CEBU CITY, Philippines — Long and coiling queues of passengers were seen at the Cebu North Bus Terminal in Mandaue City on Thursday evening, October 31, 2019, as last-minute travelers who wish to spend All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in their hometowns continue to arrive here.
Zosimo Jumao-as, manager of the North Bus Terminal, said they expect around 30,000 passengers to come to the terminal between October 31 to November 1, based on the volume of passengers that they have logged in previous years.
The volume of passengers started to pile up in the afternoon since the government work schedule has been suspended at noon today while most of those in private establishments still had to work the whole day.
Jumao-as said that although around 300 buses use the terminal, they cannot avoid that some trips would be delayed due to the delay in the turnaround time of the buses.
He said that the time for the buses to return to the terminal is still dependent on the traffic situation on the roads of Mandaue City and it’s neighboring towns in the north.
With the influx of passengers, Police Captain Marvin Fegarido, chief of Mandaue City Police Station 2 which is in-charge in the North Bus Terminal, assured that they have enough men deployed to ensure the security of the passengers in the terminal.
Fegarido told CDN Digital that at least eight policemen are deployed alongside the 15 blue guards of the terminal.
“Because 24 hours ang operation sa terminal, we see to it nga duna tay personnel nga nakadeploy diri as augmentation to the security guards and to ensure the safety and security sa mga pasahero,” Fegarido said.
Barangay Public Safety Officers (BPSO) from Subangdaku, Mandaue City are also deployed in the terminal as security augmentation. Most of the BPSOs are deployed in the entry and exit points of the terminal. /bmjo