Visitors line up outside the Calamba Cemetery in Cebu City in this photo courtesy of Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak, the City Council’s chairperson for the committee on disaster risk reduction and management, said that cemeteries here have been peaceful so far, a day before these will be closed to the public.
Tumulak has been going rounds in the major cemeteries in Cebu for the past week to inspect the implementation of health protocols.
The people are given only until Wednesday, October 28, 2020, to visit their deceased loved ones as all cemeteries in the country will be closed from October 29 to November 3, as a precaution against crowding and the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Read: Cemeteries in Cebu City closed from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3
Tumulak said that so far people have been compliant to the social distancing protocol, wearing of face masks, wearing of face shields, and the use of the quarantine passes.
Photos of the Pardo, Calamba, and Carreta Cemeteries show that the police and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) have been carefully watching the entrances and exits of the three cemeteries as others wait outside for their turn to enter the cemeteries.
There are only a few people who can enter the cemeteries as only 30 percent of the capacity of the area should be allowed at a given time.
“Nag-expect ta nga mas daghan ang moapas karong hapon kay kinalasang adlaw naman. (We expect that more people will visit this afternoon because it is the last day),” said the councilor.
He reminded the public that those who wish to visit their loved ones, they should follow the health protocols or else they may not be allowed to enter.
Cemeteries will reopen to the public on November 4, 2020.
/bmjo