If you’re traveling through Cebu Port on OceanJet anytime soon, you NEED to read this.
This isn’t drama, this is something happening right in front of passengers every single day.

I experienced it twice, and the pattern is impossible to ignore.

⚠️ The ₱50 “Mandatory” Porter Fee That Nobody Asked For

Here’s exactly what happened:

I was a regular tourist-class passenger with a stroller-type bag (9kg) well within the free 10kg check-in baggage allowance that OceanJet clearly posts on their website.

But the moment I approached the check-in counter, a porter suddenly stepped in and said:

“Ma’am, ₱50 per bag.”

No assistance offered.
No assistance requested.
Just an instant fee.

And the part that made everything feel official?

👉 OceanJet Cebu staff were RIGHT THERE, watching.
Not one person corrected the porter.
Not one person said: “Ma’am, free check-in po yan.”

So how would any traveler know it’s NOT required?

Most people will just pay especially tourists.

💡 Here’s where it gets suspicious…

1️⃣ They NEVER weighed my bag.

If excess baggage was the issue, why didn’t they weigh it?
You can’t charge “overweight fees” without weighing anything.

2️⃣ First time, no receipt. Second time… suddenly they had receipts.

When I returned weeks later, guess what?

They magically had printed receipts ready.

So this isn’t a one-off.
It’s a system.

3️⃣ Cebu is the ONLY port where this happens.

Tagbilaran? No issue.
Siquijor? No issue.
Cebu? Always.

Why?

📩 The Customer Service Replies Raised More Questions

When I emailed OceanJet:

• First reply asked for my ticket and boarding pass.
• Second reply asked if I “requested a porter.”

But I already explained:
I didn’t. They inserted themselves into the check-in process.

What I wanted to know was simple:

Why is Cebu enforcing a ₱50 “porter fee” when the official policy says check-in baggage up to 10kg is free?

They never answered that part directly.

🛑 Why This Matters (And Why You Should Care)

Because if this happened to me twice, it’s happening to hundreds of people daily.

And think about it:

🔹 Travelers who don’t speak the language
🔹 Foreign tourists
🔹 Families with strollers
🔹 First-time passengers
🔹 Elderly travelers

They’ll all just pay because the “fee” looks official.

This is how small unauthorized charges become a silent system.

🚀 SHARE THIS to warn other travelers.

Cebu Port is one of the busiest gateways in the Visayas. If passengers don’t speak up, this will continue forever.

And OceanJet needs to clarify,publicly,whether their Cebu porters are allowed to demand payment from passengers who never requested assistance.