Pinoys head to bus terminals, expressways for Undas, BSKE 2023

Filipinos continued with their annual exodus to their hometowns on Saturday due to the long holidays for Undas (All Saints' Day) and Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) 2023.

At the Florida bus station in Sampaloc, Manila, passengers were seen lining up past 6 a.m. for their trips going north, particularly Tuguegarao and Ilocos Norte, according to a report by Jhomer Apresto on Super Radyo dzBB.

A dispatcher said many passengers have been flocking to the bus terminal since Friday.

Their provincial bus trips however have been fully booked since October 21.

Many of the passengers at the terminal are thus chance passengers, the dispatcher said.

To address this, the bus station has assigned two drivers per bus and has instructed them to turn around and head back to the station once the trip to the north has been completed, he added.

Meanwhile, at Victory Liner bus station in Sampaloc, Manila, many passengers were also at the terminal early on Saturday to board buses bound for Roxas, Zambales, Baguio, Olongapo, and other areas.

The situation on Saturday however was better as compared on Friday, a bus station personnel said.

Passengers also continued to arrive at a bus terminal in Quezon City and at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, according to a report on GMA Integrated News Bulletin.

SLEX, NLEX

Meanwhile, at the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), additional toll operators were deployed in anticipation of more motorists traveling this weekend, Toll Regulatory Board spokesperson Julius Corpuz said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB on Saturday.

At the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), motorists continued using the tollway on Saturday, according to NLEX Corporation senior traffic manager Robin Ignacio.

"Tuloy-tuloy ang pasok ng mga motorista... Sa tingin natin, nagsimula (influx of motorists) bago mag-alas tres ng umaga kahapon," he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(Motorists' arrival [at NLEX] is continuous. The start [of the influx of motorists] started before 3 a.m. yesterday, we think.)

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has declared October 30, 2023 as a special non-working day throughout the country for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Meanwhile, November 1 and 2 are special non-working days to allow the public to observe All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. —KG, GMA Integrated News