Few cemetery visitors are seen on the morning of All Souls’ Day on Thursday, Nov. 2. This will drastically change later in the day when more visitors are expected to visit the graves of their dearly departed. | Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – Kalag-Kalag 2023 in Mandaue City saw around 35,000 people visiting their departed loved ones in different cemeteries on Wednesday, November 1.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Franco Rudolf Oriol, Deputy City Director for Administration and Spokesperson of the Mandaue City Police Office on Thursday, Nov. 2, said that most people flocked to the cemeteries at 6 p.m. onwards.
Oriol believed that the majority of people visited during the evening to avoid the scorching heat of the sun.
Prohibited items
He added that the Kalag-Kalag situation of the eight cemeteries remains to be peaceful and orderly. No prohibited items were also confiscated.
Some of the things prohibited inside the cemeteries include liquor and intoxicating beverages, speakers, sharp objects, and blade weapons, among others.
Over 300 police and personnel from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) among others were deployed at the eight cemeteries in the city for Kalag-Kalag 2023. They will be pulled out on Friday, Nov. 3.
As of 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 2, Oriol said that around 3,000 people visited the cemeteries.
Just like yesterday, they expect more visitors late in the afternoon and into the night.
“Everything is in order. Hopefully, ingun ani gihapon unta hangtud ugma mahuman ang Kalag-Kalag,” said Oriol.
Moreover, Oriol said that there were no major incidents recorded in other areas of the city. He said that their anti-criminality activities and monitoring continue despite the deployment of personnel to the cemeteries.
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