Thousand to Filipinos who spend their four-day Holy Week break started heading back to Metro Manila on Easter Sunday.

Bus terminals along EDSA in Kamuning and Cubao, Quezon City, passengers began disembarking from buses arriving from various provinces.

Dispatchers said the bulk of passengers are expected to arrive on Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning.

Bus company assures that there were enough buses going to provinces to pick up passengers.

The Land Transportation Office–National Capital Region announced it will launch a crackdown on taxi drivers who refuse or selectively pick up passengers starting Sunday, April 20.

The LTO-NCR announced that “Oplan Isnabero” will roll out on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at major Metro Manila transport terminals.

Meanwhile, at a bus terminal on Taft Avenue in Pasay City, passengers from Quezon and Batangas began arriving at 3 a.m. Sunday

More passengers are expected to arrive in the afternoon and evening.

Security personnel said some of the buses left the terminal to go to the provinces even without passengers, so they can pick up passengers going back to Metro Manila.

Security was tight at the bus terminal, with Pasay City police seen patrolling the area.

Authorities reminded the public to keep an eye on their belongings always.

At the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) on Sunday morning, buses began arriving early from the provinces.

“Pakaunti-unti, mayroon nang bumabalik… Nakahanda naman tayo,” PITX corporate affairs and government relations head Jason Salvador said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

Salvador earlier said their projection was 2.5 million passengers at PITX for Holy Week 2025.

“Ang target kasi namin originally 2.5 million (passengers)…on track naman tayo kahit paano doon,” he said.

(Our original target was 2.5 million [passengers]… We are on track somehow.)

Salvador said they expect some more passengers to arrive from their Holy Week break on Monday, and still a few more on Tuesday and Wednesday.

He added that no one at PITX among the personnel tested positive in the random drug test conducted by authorities.

NLEX

Meanwhile, no untoward incident has so far been reported on North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), according to NLEX Corporation assistant vice president for traffic operations Robin Ignacio.

“So far, wala tayong naging malaking problema,” Ignacio said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(So far, we have not had a big problem.)

Ignacio said starting 2 a.m. on Saturday, the volume of vehicles on NLEX going to Metro Manila started increasing.

To address the expected heavy volume of vehicles this Sunday, NLEX implemented counterflow lanes from Dau to San Fernando in Pampanga, and in Balagtas and Bocaue in Bulacan, he added.

SLEX, STAR Tollway, Skyway

At the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway, and Skyway, traffic was smooth as of 6 a.m. Sunday, according to Skyway O&M Corporation (SOMCO) traffic safety management and security department overall head Ret. Maj. Leopoldo Vitug Jr.

“Sa ngayon, napakaluwag pa ng ating SLEX, STAR Tollway at Skyway,” Vitug said in an interview.

(Currently, SLEX, STAR Tollway and Skyway are not congested.)

“Mayroon tayong pailan-ilan na road crash pero so far, wala namang major incident na nangyari,” he added.

(We have had a few road crash incidents but so far, no major incident occurred.)

Under Proclamation No. 727, April 17 (Maundy Thursday) and April 18 (Good Friday) were declared regular holidays. April 19 (Black Saturday) meanwhile was declared a special non-working day.

Every Holy Week in the Philippines, Catholics observe traditions and rituals to mark Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Many of them head to their hometowns to be with their loved ones during Holy Week.