MASBATE CITY (PIA) — The Philippine Ports Authority delivered hot meals yesterday to 53 passengers stranded at Masbate Port after a vessel that was headed for Cebu canceled its trip due to Tropical Storm “Kabayan.”
The PPA said its Port Management Office (PMO) in Masbate came to the aid of the passengers of MV Filipinas by feeding them with savory rice porridge and drinking water.
The PMO also made their extended wait somehow more comfortable at the passenger terminal by providing them with a cell phone charging station, nursing area, and prayer room, the PPA added.
The passengers decided to spend the night at the passenger terminal.
MV Filipinas canceled its voyage because Cebu has been placed under Tropical Storm Signal No. 1.
The PMO also announced on its official Facebook page the cancellation of trips of MV Virgen de Peñafrancia from the port of San Pascual, Masbate to the port of San Andres, Quezon starting yesterday.
Stranded passengers take their free meal from Philippine Ports Authority workers at the passenger terminal in Masbate Port, Masbate City, Dec. 17, 2023.
In an advisory, Erwin Asi, skipper of the roll-on-roll-off ship of Star Horse Shipping Lines, said he had to suspend the voyage because of “rough seas and strong winds.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Kabayan is packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph.
Kabayan was last spotted over the coastal waters of Caraga, Davao Oriental at 4 a.m., moving west-northwestward at 15 kph. (PIA 5/Masbate)
PPA photo.
