26/06/2026
๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ข๐ง: ๐ง๐๐ ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฏ
Every day that we're in Jordan Wharf to organize and monitor the dry-run operations of the manipesto project, we're always met with unexpected conditions that constantly challenge the way the entire ecosystem is built. From missing crew records, blackouts, registrations surge to passenger influx that never seems to end.
The 3rd day of the dry-runs, however, came with an incident that became a turning point for one of the project's key stakeholders, intensifying the need for digitalization in pre-departure processes for maritime travel in the country.
I was preparing the CGSS Jordan's back-up receiver device when I noticed two of their personnel leaving their post at the boarding area of Jordan Wharf, seemingly heading back towards the direction of their office. Upon arriving there, this is what I ended up seeing.
One officer was grabbing bundles of paper from a backroom and piling it on the floor of the reception while the other ushered me in as he started sorting out the dates labeled in marker wrapping each of the bundles. The two Philippine Coast Guard officers, turns out, received a call to search for a person. And each bundle are the passenger manifests and Master's Declaration of Safe Departure (MDSD) papers of at least 100+ ferry trips departing from Jordan Wharf, every single day.
As I handed over their back-up device, one question after another, the ugly truths behind the particular piles of paper slowly reveal itself.
"Is this all of it?"
PCG: "No, ma'am, this is not even one month yet! It's only from Jordan Wharf. This does not include the Jordan Roro Port yet."
"Do you at least have a method or a trick to search for that particular passenger record from all this?"
PCG: "Sheet by sheet, line by line, ma'am."
This is where I also noticed that one officer started pulling sheets from a bundle, pairing each MDSD to a passenger manifest then stapling it together before setting it aside on the couch where I was sitting. They have also closed the door and allowed me to take documentation photos of the mess, reminiscing of the garbage bags of manifests I once saw at CGS Iloilo in the early years of the project.
I have to leave early due to a prior commitment, and have left the two officers on their hands and knees digging in between the papers for a name they can't read.
It was only then I found out of the conversation between them and the Project Lead, before the officers had to leave their post, that one of them asked, "Does the app have a search function?"
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This is why the pre-departure clearance with the paper-based forms takes time. The manifests are corrected early in an attempt to make passenger searching "easier" due to incidents like the one here. I left that office without knowing if the officers were able to find who they were looking for but I was assured that most of the time these searches turn up negative.
Since the beginning of the dry-runs last June 19, 2026, all officers of the Coast Guard Sub-Station Jordan are trained and equipped with their own devices under the project. These allows them to receive the digital passenger manifests generated by the project without the need of an internet connection. Ensuring that from its source to their reporting and monitoring needs, all passenger records are clean, readable, and accurate. And before you come after me, YES! It has a search function!
Now, if you notice the blaring "Prepare your QR before boarding" posters in the boarding area of Jordan Wharf, beyond reminders, its a collective movement for ensuring safety of life at sea.
And you are the most crucial part of it.
- Sy
