Grandma stays whole night outside North Port due to lack of 24/7 ticketing staff

MANILA, Philippines — A 59-year-old passenger spent the night outside the Manila North Port in Tondo, Manila last Tuesday because she could not immediately secure the earliest trip to Bacolod.

She then spent the next two days in the area waiting for her ship to depart on Thursday evening. 

Speaking to reporters, Leonila Castillanes said she was not informed that no trip to Bacolod was available at the time she arrived at the port two days ago.

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As the port does not allow overnight stay without a ticket, she had no choice but to stay outside the terminal. 

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“In Sta. Cruz (Laguna), we don’t know how to buy tickets,” Castillanes said.

“We also don’t have a signal on the mountain. That’s why we could not book [tickets]. Many people told us that we can directly buy tickets here,” she told Inquirer what she knew.

The elderly traveler said that she couldn’t sleep outside the port because she feared for her life and belongings. 

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Coming all the way from Pangil, Laguna, Castillanes said she planned to return to Bacolod after 30 years.

The elderly wants to stay there for six months to be with her grandchildren. 

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She said she entered the port on Wednesday, one day after she arrived, only after finally being able to  buy a ticket.

Her ticket is meant for a boat travel on Thursday night.

On her second night in the terminal, she was allowed to stay inside the waiting area of the building. 

This incident is what led Transport Secretary Vince Dizon to order the Philippine Ports Authority, the operations manager of the Manila North Port, and travel provider 2Go to enforce a 24/7 ticketing system for this transport hub. 

Dizon personally met Castillanes when he inspected the port on Thursday. 

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“So I instructed PPA [General Manager Jay Santiago], North Port, and 2Go to do something about it,” frustrated Dizon said in a separate interview with reporters. 

He issued this order: “First, they must make the ticketing system here work 24/7, even if it is operated by one person only.”

“Someone has to sell tickets so passengers can easily enter the port and become comfortable,” he pointed out.

In response, Santiago said that the proposed ticketing system is feasible.

He told the personnel of 2Go transport shipping company to deploy at least one personnel with a working computer to assist passengers who arrive at the port, even late at night, to sell tickets. 

The PPA expects 1,934,604  across all ports in the country from October 27, 2026 to November 5, 2026.

It noted that this forecast is higher than last year’s figure of 1,905,063. 

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It added that the five ports with the highest expected passenger numbers are Iloilo River Wharf in Iloilo City, Babak Port in Samal Island, Batangas Port in Batangas City, Jordan Port in Guimaras and Sasa Port in Davao City. /apl