Cemetery kids receive new slippers from Lapu-Lapu City Police Community Relations personnel at the end of their month-long series of lectures on per sonality enhancement.
(CDN PHOTO/NORMAN MENDOZA)
A nine-year-old boy expressed gratitude to the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO) Community Relations Team for teaching them good manners and giving them food.
John Michael Tayupan was among the more than 70 children frequenting the Lapu-Lapu City public cemetery in sitio Humay-Humay, barangay Gun-ob who benefited from the personality enhancement and development program headed by by P/Insp. Karen Bancoleta, chief of Police Community Relations.
“I thanked them a lot for teaching us good manners and for feeding us,” said Tayupan in Cebuano.
Bancoleta said they saw the children inside the cemetery acting rudely and generally misbehaving. She said they even received reports that some took the candles lighted by visitors for their departed loved ones inside the cemetery and begged for food from people taking refreshments after burying their dead.
They also observed that some children slept on the tombs and mausoleums.
“Because of these, we decided to gather them and teach them personality enhancement development. We see this as an opportunity also to establish a good relationship with the community,” said Bancoleta.
They gathered the children with consent from their parents at the cemetery’s chapel starting last April 11 for a lecture and feeding. Last May 11, the program ended with a Mass officiated by the Police Regional Office 7 chaplain P/Supt. Arnulfo Castillo and attended by the LCPO Community Relations team, the children beneficiaries and their parents.
Ribbons and medals were also given to those participative, respectful, obedient and well-behaved children.
Police also distributed pillows and slippers to the children and they ate lunch together as part of recognition day.