Pagasa lifts gale warning in Central Visayas

Sea travel to Bohol and other parts of Cebu and Central Visayas resumed past 5 p.m. on Thursday after the weather bureau lifted the gale warning.

A fast craft operator at Pier 1 in Cebu City immediately announced to passengers that their trips would resume at 5:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

Jhomer Eclarino, weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) in Mactan Island, said the gale warning for Central Visayas provinces of Cebu, Negros Oriental and Bohol was lifted at 5 p.m.

But the gale warning however remains in the northern and eastern seaboards of Samar, Eastern seaboard of Southern Leyte and northern seaboards of Aklan and Capiz as well as in some parts of Luzon.

Cebu Coast Guard station commander Agapito Bibat said he lifted the suspension order for smaller vessels (not more than 250 gross tonnage) that were found for Bohol and Bantayan Island from Hagnaya wharf in San Remegio town, Cebu.

But he had yet to clear the trips for Southern Leyte and Ormoc City in Leyte and from Danao City to Camotes Island on eastern Cebu.

Bibat said the ports of destination for Southern Leyte routes were usually located in western part of Southern Leyte and not at the eastern seaboard.

But Bibat said he instructed his men to check first the sea condition in the Camotes Sea before allowing the resumption of the sea travel to these areas.