Parilla: Security preps for All Saint’s, All Soul’s Day depend on IATF guidelines

By: Mae Fhel Gom-os - 3 years ago

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office.

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said security preparations for All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day will depend on the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, CCPO deputy city director for operations, said they have yet to determine the number of police personnel to be deployed in cemeteries in Cebu City to ensure the health and safety protocols are being followed.

During their coordination meeting with the Cebu City officials, Parilla revealed that they are planning to allow only vaccinated persons to enter public and private cemeteries on November 1 and 2.

Based on their initial meeting, cemeteries will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on those days.

“That’s for our initial meeting, that is not yet final [and is] subject for change, specially if there is directive from the IATF,” he said.

To avoid crowding in cemeteries, Parilla said they also suggested that there should be a bracket according to age as to when they are allowed to enter the premises.

“Aron dili gyud magdungan og abot ang mga tawo, kay dunay posibilidad nga it’s either ari ra sa hapon ang kasagaran mga managkot, so modaghan ang hapon usually,” he said.

Parilla, however, stressed that there should be strict compliance to usual or common guidelines, such as refraining from bringing food inside the cemeteries or bringing of alcoholic beverages.

Parilla, meanwhile, clarified that allowing only vaccinated individuals to enter cemeteries is not discrimination for unvaccinated individuals. He stressed that this is for safety purposes since unvaccinated individuals are more prone to severe symptoms of COVID-19.

“Ang mga vaccinated, it doesn’t mean nga dili sila matakdan. But dili na mo-severe. So kon ang unvaccinated ang matakdan, during sa activity, so sila ang posibilidad nga magrabihan. So we don’t want that to happen. Kay dili ta ganahan nga duna pa’y another surge, which is really difficult na gyud na siya,” he added.

(It doesn’t mean that vaccinated individuals won’t get infected. But they won’t have severe effects. So if unvaccinated individuals get infected during the activity, there’s a chance that they will suffer from severe effects of the virus. We don’t want that to happen. Because we don’t want another surge, which will be really difficult.)

Parilla said that he is hoping that such possible requirement would somehow encourage the public to get vaccinated, which will greatly help in the bod to return to the normal way of life.