People are seen visiting graves at the Carreta Public Cemetery in this November 2018 photo. | CDN Digital file
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City police will shift their focus to overseeing the peace and order situation in the 21 cemeteries here starting at dawn on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said that security personnel will already be at their assigned areas when cemeteries open at 6 a.m. of the same day.
This means that after they pullout security personnel from the different polling areas for the Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30, troops will then be deployed to secure the cemeteries here.
Based on the recent meetings that they have had with different government agencies and cemetery administrators, they were told that cemeteries will be open to the public from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight on November 1 and 2 and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on other days.
“Kanang Kalag-Kalag, although makita ninyo nga murag ang tong focus is more on the BSKE, but wala gyud nato na pud gi set-aside ang atong mga plano diha para sa Kalag-Kalag,” she said.
Rafter said policemen will be assigned in all of the 21 public and private cemeteries in Cebu City, of which 13 are located in the rural barangays while eight are in urban barangays.
More uniformed cops will be deployed in the bigger cemeteries here like the Carreta, Calamba and Pardo Cemeteries and the Queen City Memorial Gardens and the Cebu Memorial Park due to the influx of a huge crowd of people there.
“Na-identified na nato na ang atoang mga iprioritize gyud. All of the cemeteries will have their own deployment gyud sa atong kapulisan. Tanan jud na, the 21 will have its own deployment,” stated Rafter.
Public safety
Rafter said that some reserved personnel will mainly be deployed to ensure public safety in cemeteries during the Kalag-Kalag celebration.
“Ato na pud nang gi-reserve ang atoang mga pulis nga magduty sa petsa uno. Kay syempre, katong mga nagduty pud ni-anang election labi na gyud tong naabtan og mga kadlawon, dili pud to nato pwede pud nga i-deploy dayon kasi dili naman pud na sila effective,” she stated.
“That’s why while we planned for the election coming rong October 30, we did not also disregard the planning for the Kalag-Kalag. Ang gika-ingon gani dito, other people will start visiting the cemeteries on the 31st,” Rafter added.
RELATED STORIES:
Cebu North Bus Terminal: 6,000 passengers noted in 2 days, more expected in next 2 days
More than 5,000 individuals visit Cebu City cemeteries
Drunk visitors will be barred from cemeteries, to be sent home – PRO-7