By Beting Laygo Dolor, Contributing Editor
The country’s Transportation authorities belatedly expressed their dismay at an incident last November 30 that did not become widely known until late last week.
Thousands of international tourists who arrived at the Port of Manila underwent what some called a “nightmarish” experience in the Philippines.
The passengers were traveling with the Norwegian Jewel International Cruise lines which had Manila as one of its stops.
What transpired would have been a strong argument that the Philippines is not equipped to handle the inflow of tourists from cruise ships, considered a premium market.
One of the Filipino tourists, Nelson Terible, took to Facebook to relate his story of the “mishandling” by local port authorities of the passengers, who he said were jampacked “like sardines” in a small, hot room as they disembarked.
Terible’s post went viral and only then did local authorities, led by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), apologize to the passengers. The government also sought an explanation from the agent of the cruise ship, the terminal operators, and the third-party transport service for the mess that took place.
Besides being cramped in a small space, the passengers also had a long wait then were forced to go out in the heat to claim their baggage.
Most of the travelers were then forced to carry their baggage themselves as there were only some 20 porters to handle the needs of around 2,500 tourists.
What irked Terible was that a good number of the travelers were seniors, who not only had to handle their own hand-carried luggage but also their much larger bags.
“No porters or luggage carts were provided,” he said in his post, dated December 9.
While there were several exits in the area, Terible asked why only one was open.
He said PPA personnel shrugged him off with a curt, “Ayaw nila eh (They don’t want to),” referring to their superiors.
In a statement late last week, the PPA said they were also disappointed with Asian Terminals Inc, the Ben Line Agencies, and the third-party transport service, TravelPeople Ltd. Inc. for failing to provide the proper service to the passengers.
A spokesman for the PPA said General Manager Jay Santiago had already asked the cruise ship agent and the terminal operator for an explanation.
The PPA also said that they had an earlier meeting with the private companies, which promised to provide adequate personnel to handle the incoming tourists. But the PPA said they had failed to deliver, with only 20 civilian porters assisting 2,353 departing passengers and 2,505 boarding passengers.
Furthermore, the PPA said traffic had also worsened that day “since embarking passengers arrived three hours earlier than expected” even as the disembarking passengers were still being assisted by the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Immigration, according to the PPA.
This was contrary to what had been agreed upon previously during a pre-arrival meeting.
As for the government agency bearing the brunt, the Department of Tourism said the concerns raised were beyond their jurisdiction.
The DOT provided a welcome reception for the passengers and it showed videos and photos to prove their claim.
Said the DOT: “The mishandling of arriving cruise passengers runs counter to the objectives of the Marcos administration to enhance the overall tourist experience. Further, it is anathema to the Philippines’ current standing as Asia’s Best Cruise Destination 2023 which has been the result of hard work, convergence, and collaboration in the past year.”
