CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) is hoping that the Misa de Gallo will not push through this year so that there will be no reason for the public to crowd and further spread the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Catholics attend a dawn Mass at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City on December 16, 2019. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
Police Colonel Josephino Ligan, the director of the CCPO, said that the Misa De Gallo is within the curfew hours of 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. when the public is not supposed to go out except for essential workers.
The CCPO does not recommend the holding of the Misa De Gallo because it is also traditionally a crowded activity among the parishes, which may place the health of the people at risk with the ongoing pandemic.
Aside from the crowding, Ligan said that manning the Misa De Gallos around the city would be an additional burden to the police force who are already busy ensuring that health protocols are implemented aside from fighting crimes.
“It will be an additional workload taking into consideration nga stand alone na ta, wala nay augmentation,” said Ligan.
Should the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the coronavirus decide to push through with the Misa De Gallo, the CCPO said they will need the help of the barangays as the 11 police stations cannot handle all the churches in the city at that time.
The barangays should set up their tanods to help maintain order in all the churches and the churchgoers for Misa de Gallo.
“We will be accepting help from our barangay to help the police pag-implement sa minimum health requirements. The force multipliers will be tapped and we will be coordinating through the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) for the preparations,” said Ligan. /rcg