MANILA -- The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has suspended all land travel by buses and trucks bound for Visayas and Mindanao via Matnog Port in Sorsogon and other areas in Bicol.

The LTFRB said this is in preparation for the possible effects of Pepito, a tropical cyclone that mey head towards Bicol and even affect Metro Manila. 

The agency said it made its decision upon the recommendation of the Office of Civil Defense Regional Office V and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is also discouraging non-essential land trips from Metro Manila and nearby areas to the Bicol Region in light of Pepito's possible onslaught. 

Pepito is the third tropical cyclone to pass through the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PARO), after Nika and Ofel.

Nika struck the northern Philippines, with thousands of villages ordered to evacuate and ports shut down.

Ofel, meanwhile, has  made landfall in Cagayan and weakened into a typhoon.

Ofel slams into Cagayan, weakens into a typhoon