People start visiting their departed loved ones at the St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cemtery in barngay Guizo in Mandaue City on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—With only a week left before the closure of the cemeteries in Mandaue City to prevent the spread of COVID-19, several people have started to visit the graves of their departed loved ones.
Among them are Gina Beltran from barangay Subangdaku and Amy Cortes from barangay Ibabo-Estancia.
They usually visit their departed loved ones during Kalag-Kalag on November 1 but since the government is prohibiting gatherings due to the COVID-19 threat, all they can do is follow the order and, thus, visit earlier than usual.
“Nanagkot nalang mi og sayo kay ig 1 ug 2 dili naman ta ka sulod gyud, manira man,” Beltran said when this writer caught up with him at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in Barangay Guizo.
(We just lighted candles because the cemetery will be closed on Nov. 1 and 2.)
Aside from St. Joseph, there are three other cemeteries in Barangay Guizo: Mandaue City Municipal Cemetery, Grosmar Memorial Garden and Man Park.
“Nisayo kay maoy advise sa IATF (Interagency Task Force). Supposedly dili unta ingon ani, usually 1 gyud,”, Cortes said.
(We came earlier because it’s the advice of the IATF. Supposedly, we visit on Nov. 1.)
Pray from home
Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mayor Jonas Cortes said that starting this Saturday, October 24, 2020, personnel from Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRMO), and Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM) will be deployed in the seven cemeteries in the city to make sure that safety protocols will be followed. They will stay until a week after cemeteries are opened again on November 4.
To avoid crowding cemeteries, Ibañez suggests praying for departed loved ones from home.
“Bisag customary gyud nato pero kay naa pa tas pandemic, pwede ra adto ra ta sa balay nato magdakot og kandila para sa ato’ng namatay na nga mahal sa kinabuhi.”, Ibañez said.
(Even though it’s customary we should remember we’re still in a pandemic, so we can just pray and light candles for our loved ones from our homes.)
Last month, Mayor Jonas Cortes issued Executive Order No. 83-B, ordering temporary closure of all cemeteries in the city during the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day celebrations to avoid mass gatherings.
Read: Mayor Cortes orders closure of cemeteries, columbariums during Kalag-kalag
All cemeteries will be closed from October 29 to November 4.
/bmjo