Labella reminds public to stay at home for Easter Sunday
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella reads the prayers of the faithful during the Easter Vigil Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on April 11, 2020. | Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella reminded the residents of the city to remain at home during the celebration of Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020.
The mayor said that it might be customary for families to go out and gather with relatives during the Lord’s Resurrection, but with the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), it would be safer to remain at home.
“Remind lang ko nga naa gihapon ang atong (I remind our constituents that we are still under the) enhanced community quarantine, so stay home as much as possible and observe proper hygiene,” said the mayor.
Earlier on Saturday, the police had to control people at the South Road Properties (SRP), who were trying to swim in the seas near the coastal communities in Barangay Mambaling.
Councilor Philip Zafra said that three individuals were arrested while the rest dispersed from the area.
Read more: Swimming in Cebu’s beaches, bodies of water banned during ECQ
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, on the other hand, had also warned people against going to the beaches or bodies of water to celebrate Easter or they would be arrested.
Garcia gave the warning as she signed an executive order banning these activities on Easter Sunday and the duration of the ECQ.
She also asked the police to enforce these order and to monitor the beaches of the province.
Read more: Gov orders police to monitor beaches in time of Easter
Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Labella reminded the public that this could not be done (going out, swimming in the beaches) and they should instead celebrate Easter at home where they could be safe with their families
Yet he also reminded the public to keep on praying for the COVID-19 pandemic to end and restore normal operations in the city.
He said this Easter Sunday would be more special with the threat of the virus because it would give the people hope that the crisis would eventually end, the way Jesus Christ had risen after death.
He said that Easter would also be a reminder that death was not the ultimate end and there was an eternity to prepare for.
Through faith and solidarity, Labella prayed that constituents of Cebu City would be able to get through the pandemic./dbs
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