MANILA — More than 2.2 million people are expected to flock to seaports across the country as they head to their home provinces for the Holy Week, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said Thursday.

In a public briefing, PPA spokesperson Eunice Samonte said the projected number is based on the 1.2 million passengers who went to the country's ports last year.

Among the ports with an expected influx of passengers include those in Batangas, Iloilo, Jordan Port in Guimaras, and in Davao.

Because of this, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago has ordered all of the agency's employees not to take any leave of absence during the Holy Week, with their days-off also canceled.

This is to ensure that ports nationwide would be looked after carefully, Samonte said.

"Kabilang po diyan iyong mga frontliners natin at lahat po ng kawani at tauhan ng PPA para masiguro po na tuloy-tuloy po ang ating pagbabantay at monitoring dito sa ating mga pantalan," she said.

(This includes our frontliners and personnel in the PPA to ensure the continuous security and monitoring in our ports.)

She assured that all ports in the country will be open 24/7 during the Holy Week.

Several government agencies have also expressed preparedness for the influx of travelers during the Holy Week, which will be observed from Palm Sunday on April 2 to Easter Sunday on April 9.

About 1.2 million passengers are also expected to flock to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) for Holy Week.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said it is preparing for a "deluge" of passengers in the coming days.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said that it would be on heightened alert status from March 31 to April 10.

More than 74,000 police officers will be deployed nationwide for the Holy Week, while the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it will deploy some 2,000 of its personnel across the capital region's major thoroughfares.

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