Marilyn Cahatol

Passengers head to a provincial bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City ahead of the start of Holy Week on April 1, 2023. Thousands of Filipinos are expected to flock to the provinces to mark the most sacred week in the liturgical year during the extended holiday. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Allison Co

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177416336904720230401-holy-week-pnp-bus-terminal-MT-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Passengers head to a provincial bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City ahead of the start of Holy Week on April 1, 2023. Thousands of Filipinos are expected to flock to the provinces to mark the most sacred week in the liturgical year during the extended holiday. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Passengers head to a provincial bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City ahead of the start of Holy Week on April 1, 2023. Thousands of Filipinos are expected to flock to the provinces to mark the most sacred week in the liturgical year during the extended holiday. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — As fuel prices continue to rise, provincial buses have been forced to cut back on daily trips, prompting single mom Pearl Borjel to head home to her five children in Surigao del Sur a week before Holy Week.</p><p>Bringing along large boxes from what remains of her small business selling clothes and food, Borjel is preparing for a three-day journey.</p><p>“Ang hirap kasi alam naman natin diba. Kahit anong gawin natin panawagan, kahit anong hiling natin tulong, parang wala naman nang gagawin yung gobyerno,,” she said.</p><p>(It&#x27;s hard because we know, right, that whatever call we make, whatever help we ask for, the government will not do anything)</p><p>With fewer trips available, fares have also increased.  What used to cost P3,600 last week has gone up to P4,200, Borjel added.</p><p>“Sa amin ngayon ma&#x27;am, ang ginagawa ni company po ay, yung trips namin, dati na apat na trips, ngayon ang ginawa namin ay tatlo lang muna. Kasi yung pasahero sa ngayon, minimal pa naman, kaya pa dun sa tatlong bus araw-araw,” explained Davao Metro Shuttle dispatcher Carlo Clavano.</p><p>(What we have done is reduce trips to three from four. Anyway, there aren&#x27;t a lot of passengers, so the three buses a day are enough)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/22/fuel-hikes-force-some-filipinos-to-put-holy-week-plans-on-hold-0935">Fuel hikes force some Filipinos to put Holy Week plans on hold</a></div><p>To further save fuel, bus engines are turned off while waiting for passengers.</p><p>“Dati kasi nagpa-boarding na po ako ng two hours before. Ngayon, ang ginawa namin, half hour na lang yung mag-boarding,” Clavano added.</p><p>(I used to let passengers wait in the bus two hours before departure. We have shortened that to just half an hour)</p><p>Meanwhile, to help ease the high prices of fuel, the Department of Transportation announced a two-month toll discount for public utility vehicles including provincial buses and vehicles involved in freight services in major tollways starting next week, March 23.</p><p>Qualified PUVs may save up to P66 for Class 1 vehicles, P131 for Class 2, and P197 for Class 3. The tollways include SLEX, STAR Tollway, Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project R1 Expressway, R1 Expressway Extension, Muntinlupa Cavity Expressway, and SCTEX: Tipo-Tarlac. </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02feBWknMWDsCzdR7LgWsUJPU9Zc487PSELceiBiZ44etDDV8y2smbszZSQebre8KNl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="753" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div><p>It’s not just provincial buses reducing their trips; even airlines are cutting trips amid the Middle East conflict. Philippine Airlines has <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/21/pal-suspends-more-middle-east-flights-due-to-conflict-0946">suspended </a>its flights to Dubai and Doha until April 30. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T0gHkSh2ExE?si=XYQJv5bBwxZ0Ru_M" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>As fuel prices continue to rise, provincial buses have been forced to cut back on daily trips and increase fares. What used to cost P3,600 last week has gone up to P4,200, a commuter said.</p>

As fuel prices continue to rise, provincial buses have been forced to cut back on daily trips and increase fares. What used to cost P3,600 last week has gone up to P4,200, a commuter said.

Bus trips, flights reduced a week ahead of Holy Week

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Bus trips, flights reduced a week ahead of Holy Week

Allison Co,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 22, 2026 04:00 PM PHT

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