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The Philippine Ports Authority relaunched its Online Reservation Assistance System in time for the expected influx of passengers during the All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day period
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Passengers can start booking their online reservation through ORAS starting October 24 for the October 28 to November 4 travel period
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The re-launch comes as PPA expects passenger traffic from October 27 to November 5 to increase 1.55% to 1.935 million from 1.905 last year
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There are now more covered ports and reservations can be made at least two hours prior to departure time
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) relaunched its Online Reservation Assistance System (ORAS) in time for the expected influx of passengers during the All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day period.
Passengers can start booking their online reservation through ORAS starting October 24 for the travel period of October 28 to November 4.
The re-launch comes as PPA expects passenger traffic from October 27 to November 5 to increase 1.55% to 1.935 million from 1.905 million during the same period last year. The minimal projected increase is due to higher ticket prices and the shorter travel period this year, Palomar said.
ORAS is a system developed in-house by PPA to provide an electronic reservation and queuing mechanism that allows users to secure a scheduled slot prior to proceeding to the port.
READ: PPA’s new online reservation system undergoes maintenance
ORAS is intended to reduce the need for users to physically line up or wait at the terminal, prevent overcrowding and disorderly queues, and ensure the orderly, efficient, and systematic processing of reservations and related services. It was pilot-tested during the Holy Week period this year from March 26 to April 8.
Not a ticket, not for RoRos
PPA assistant general manager for operations Mark Jon Palomar, in a press briefing on October 21, said ORAS “is designed to give passengers a way to plan their travel schedule before arriving at the port” and to help ports better manage passenger arrivals.
“Instead of having a large number of passengers right at the port at the same time without any assurance of travel or scheduled trip, ORAS allows us to better distribute passenger arrival according to available vessel schedule,” he added.
Palomar again clarified that ORAS is not a ticketing but a reservation system that ensures passengers a slot in their selected shipping schedule.
The system also does not cover roll-on/roll-off passengers aboard vehicles and/or those who have already purchased tickets online from shipping lines.
Shipping lines will be providing PPA with the number of slots that they can include for reservation through ORAS. Shipping lines using their own ticketing systems need not join ORAS.
Lessons from the pilot run
Palomar said the pilot testing last Holy Week gave PPA “an opportunity to see how the system performs” and identify areas where they could improve.
As a result of the pilot testing, passengers must now arrive at the port at least two hours prior to their departure time to purchase the ticket from the shipping line. This is shorter than the previous window of at least three hours, which Palomar noted was too early based on feedback from passengers.
During the pilot from March 26 to April 8, Palomar said 166,212, or 58.5% of the shipping lines’ allocated passenger booking slots for ORAS were booked through the system. A total of 99,044 out of the 222,050 passengers that embarked during the period, or four out of every nine passengers, were ORAS-verified.
Covered ports
For the upcoming implementation, PPA is expanding the covered ports to the following with corresponding routes:
- Batangas – Abra de Ilog, Calapan, Caticlan, Coron/El Nido, Odiongan, Puerto Galera, and Romblon/Sibuyan/Roxas City
- Lucena – Balanacan, Masbate, and Romblon
- Calapan – Lucena and Calapan to Batangas
- Balanacan – Lucena Lucena and Calapan to Batangas
Routes from Lucena include Balanacan, Masbate, and Romblon. Other routes include Balanacan to Lucena and Calapan to Batangas.
“Our commitment remains the same: Make travel through our ports as organized, predictable, and comfortable as possible, especially during periods where thousands of our countrymen are traveling at the same time,” Palomar said.
There are three steps to reserve a slot through ORAS–scan, choose, and reserve.
Passengers can scan the ORAS QR code to access the system, then select their port, trip schedule, and travel details, and then confirm the reservation and save the ORAS pass. The use of the system is free of charge.
The ORAS pass should be presented to the port and the shipping line’s ticketing booth to get their ticket. Passengers with ORAS Pass must arrive at the port at least two hours prior to their departure time to purchase the ticket from the shipping line, otherwise their reserved slot will be opened. This period is shorter than the three hours implemented during the pilot testing.
Aside from the QR code that will be available through PPA’s social media platforms and terminals, passengers can also access ORAS through its website, https://oras.ppa.com.ph.
PPA have also set help desks in the pilot ports to assist passengers who want to book reservations through ORAS. Priority lanes will be provided for senior citizens, persons with disability, and pregnant women.
Palomar said PPA will continue to implement ORAS during peak seasons until the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) fully implements its policy on online ticketing system for domestic shipping lines.
“We’re only implementing ORAS because we feel there’s a need. Once MARINA implements a fully digital system, hindi na kailangan ng ORAS (ORAS will not be needed anymore),” Palomar said.
MARINA earlier this year issued MARINA Memorandum Circular (MC) No. DS-2026-01, which institutionalizes the use of shipping online ticketing system (SOTS) for inter-island passenger ships “to deliver modern, inclusive, and efficient domestic shipping services.”
Under MC No. DS-2026-01, all domestic shipowners/ship operators operating inter-island passenger ships should implement an SOTS or an SOTS-equivalent system, whether developed in-house, through a third-party service provider, or via subscription to an online booking platform.
MARINA deputy administrator for operations Loumer Bernabe, during the same briefing, said some 10 shipping lines have already complied with MC No. DS-2026-01.— Roumina Pablo
