Fewer churchgoers are seen at the St. Catherin of Alexandria Parish on Good Friday. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Holy Week was generally peaceful as fewer people attended Mass and visited tourist spots during this time of year.
Police Colonel Alladin Collado, Cebu Police Provincial Office chief, gave this assessment during a conference call with reporters today, Sunday, April 4.
Collado said there were minimal influx of crowds both in churches and tourist spots during the Holy Week.
He attributed this to the Masses and some Church activities going online to adapt to the new normal and the restrictions imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
“Generally peaceful pa naman sa ngayon. No major reports coming from our police stations,” Collado said.
(As of now, the [situation] is generally peaceful. No major reports coming from our police stations.)
On Good Friday, Collado said that there was a minimal count of the crowd who went to churches to observe the religious activity.
Collado further said that the church management and the police security cluster have been cooperative with each other in the implementation of the minimum health standard protocols.
He said that their security monitoring on the churches was manageable and preparations were ‘pushed as planned’.
On Black Saturday, Collado said that the people began to visit the tourist spots not only at beaches but also in hillside areas.
And local police chiefs were ordered to monitor the situation closely.
For Easter Sunday, Collado said they shifted their focus on security on the tourist spots from the churches.
According to Collado, they already laid their security plans prior to the observance of the Holy Week.
He said that these security plans would also be continuously enforced until the summer through their Oplan SumVac or Oplan Summer Vacation.
/dbs
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