Chan eyes earlier ‘Undas’ in case cemeteries nationwide be ordered closed

Lapu-Lapu Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan inspects the Municipal Cemetery in Barangay Gun-ob. | file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Lapu-Lapu City Government is eyeing to allow cemetery visits earlier than usual.

In a press statement, Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan announced that local officials have started coming up with plans in anticipation of the possibility that all cemeteries nationwide would be ordered closed on All Saints’ Day (November 1, 2020) and All Souls’ Day (November 2, 2020) due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chan said they were planning to encourage people to visit cemeteries on October 15, 2020, or two weeks before Undas.

Chan also said if this will push through, they will be implementing regulations to control the crowd, which includes a scheduling arrangement, and limiting the number of people allowed within the property.

“If there is already advice from the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease) na sirad-an ang mga sam-ang (to close cemeteries), naghimo na ta’g scheduling karon (we can proceed with the scheduling) and we will start on October 15,” said Chan.

“We will divide og pila ra gyud ang makasulod, five to 10 percent lang (We will divide as to how many are allowed inside cemeteries, maybe around five to 10 percent only), no minors and senior citizens allowed,” the mayor said.

Lapu-Lapu City has at least four cemeteries in mainland Mactan Island and one in Olango Island.

In Cebu City, Mayor Edgardo Labella has already issued an executive order (EO) directing that all cemeteries to be closed starting October 30 until November 3.

READ MORE: Cemeteries in Cebu City closed from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3

Labella’s decision came just days after several cities in Metro Manila have also ordered the public not to visit cemeteries in an effort to put the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to manageable levels. /bmjo