Pardo Cemetery. |CDN Digital File Photo 2019
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Cebu City will be having an extended observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
This was announced on Thursday, October 14, by lawyer Colin Rosell, consultant to the Office of the Mayor in a press conference.
While awaiting the approval of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) concerning the proposal in the conduct of such activity, Rosell said that it was already finalized that there will be an extended observance of Kalag-Kalag from October 18 to November 4.
“What is final is that it will be an extended observance. Dili lang siya [November] 1 and 2,” he said.
The consultant said that concerned agencies, including the administrators of cemeteries, have already submitted their proposals or contingency plans which are now being reviewed by the EOC.
“After which, we will release the directive coming from the Office of the Mayor on what will be the guidelines that need to be addressed,” he said, adding that they are already crafting the directive which is aligned with the approval earlier submitted to the EOC.
Rosell also informed the public in advance that the city may only allow fully vaccinated individuals to visit the cemeteries on November 1 and 2.
Rosell also said that there might also be a categorization as to age who will be allowed to enter on a particular day to avoid mass gatherings.
Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, for his part, said that CCPO is set to deploy some 224 policemen to implement such policy, excluding other augmentations from other law enforcement agencies.
Ligan said that they will be putting up advance command posts (ACP) in five big cemeteries in Cebu City while the small ones will have a police assistance desk.
“Tungod sa magnitude, as ka dako sa cementeryo and we expect nga daghan gyud tawo moanha ana kay public cemeteries,” said Ligan, which was why there will be a pack of agencies that will be deployed such as from the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), Probe team, among others.
Among the cemeteries to be put up with ACP include Sto. Rosario along General Maxilom Street in Barangay Carreta, Cempark in Barangay Banilad, Carreta along M.J. Cuenco Ave., Queen City in Barangay Carreta, Calamba along V. Rama Street in Barangay Calamba, and Cebu Veteran’s/Municipal Cemetery in Barangay Labangon.
Rosell also disclosed that as proposed by the church, in coordination with the police, they will conduct at least one to two masses a day to better control the crowd.
“We are finalizing the directive which will entail and enumerate all the needed guidelines or mandatory guidelines that will be followed during that day,” he said, stressing that this is for upholding the safety of the general public. /rcg
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