Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — There may be lesser passengers compared to the previous days during the Holy Week exodus, but security at the Araneta bus terminal remains tight.
Every luggage is checked at the security counter before people can enter the terminal premises.
Aside from securities personnel, policemen from the Quezon City Police District are also deployed, scattered around the area, while K-9 units roam around.
There is also a help desk meant to assist passengers.
Security in places with large crowds, including in terminals, ports, places of worship, and tourist destinations, has been beefed up in light of what happened in Brussels.
The large chunk of passengers, though not as many, come from the Bicol region and the Visayas.
It is also apparent that there are more province-bound passengers waiting for their buses.
“Kasi ngayon lang medyo… Ngayon lang kami nakapagpa-reserve. Kasi nung nakaraan, wala talaga po kaming masakyan. Kaya ngayon man talaga po,” said passenger Niña Orsoa.
[Translation: We are only going home now as… We have only been able to reserve tickets now. There were really no buses to accommodate us in the past few days that’s why we are only leaving today.]
Some find it more convenient to go to travel after the volume of passengers has eased.
“Ngayon namin naisipan para mas hindi ma-traffic. Saka kaunti lang ‘yung sumasakay,” said passengers Aissa Hermones.
[Translation: We thought of travelling now to avoid traffic and the volume of passengers.]
The same can be observed at the Pasay bus terminal.
Officials expect the volume of passengers to pick up Sunday (March 27) until Monday (March 28), translating to around 1,000 to 3,000 passengers.
