Those who saw the photos in the social media post of Acting Vice Governor Fred Benedict T. Gianan regarding the pitiful conditions of passengers at Tabaco Port in the early morning of Aug. 17, 2026 are understandably furious.
Not many people realize that some travelers have no choice but to board Bicol-bound buses that leave early, compared to the Bicol Isarog buses that depart from Metro Manila and arrive just two or three hours before boarding the ferry.
With their ship boarding hours away, the early arrivals have nowhere else to stay once they arrive at Tabaco Port.
The tired men, women and children are forced to sit or sleep on the cold concrete of the walkways outside the two main buildings while just a few meters away, the clean, white tiled ground floor of the terminal building is an inviting but unavailable option.
For nearly two years now, the repair and rehabilitation of the Passenger Terminal Building announced with great fanfare by Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago in September 2024 appears to be uncompleted.
Why the project has yet to be finished by the contractor was not shared by PPA Bicol officials during their meeting with Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza and AVG Gianan last Monday.
An ever bigger question is why the concerned port officials chose to ignore the heartbreaking scenes right inside their own compound.
They said monobloc chairs were available at the terminal building but the photos do not show the passengers using monobloc chairs.
Sure, there are chairs inside the terminal building, but the passengers are barred from entering the wide open space.
A check of the PPA Mission and Vision shows, among others, its objective to provide modern, sustainable, and resilient port infrastructures and facilities.
There is no mention of how the modern, sustainable and resilient port facilities are of use to passengers.
Even its annual report dwells mainly on the PPA’s “strong financial performance,” crowing about generating its highest-ever annual revenue of P30 billion and P5.33 billion dividend for 2025.
The only citation regarding the public’s use of port facilities is its listing of completed infrastructure projects “together with continuing modernization initiatives that improve passenger convenience, operational efficiency, and maritime safety.”
Where these modernization initiatives are, only PPA officials probably know.
Travelers bound for Catanduanes still line up for their ferry tickets near the PPA gate, at the mercy of the elements, and a 200-meter walk to the terminal building, past the useless passenger terminal and onto the ferry.
At San Andres Port, a recent PPA project improved docking facilities but neglected to rehabilitate the comfort rooms for the passengers paying for the use of the dilapidated terminal.
How long will Catandunganons and island-bound tourists wait for a passenger terminal building that incorporates the X-ray scanning section and the payment of terminal fee and ferry ticket under one roof?
Public officials like chief executives and legislators who regularly ride on expensive Cebu Pacific Airways flights charged to the people’s taxes should do all they can to force PPA to take better care of its passengers.
In 2024 alone, a total of 259,384 passengers embarked or boarded Roll-On, Roll-Off ferries at the Tabaco Port, all bound for the Happy Island.
That’s an average of 710 sea commuters per day, including those stranded during inclement seas or the raising of storm signals.
This is a lot of voters who politicians would not wish to offend through apathy and inaction.
Otherwise, absent a reasonable solution to the abhorrent situation at Tabaco Port, the memory of their deplorable experience will stick much longer in the minds of these travelers until 2028.