Cebu City cemetery visitors can stay for 1 hour only

CEBU, Philippines — From October 18-30, cemetery visitors will only be given one hour the maximum to stay in premises of the cemetery.

Police Lt. Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director of Cebu City Police Office, said the one-hour will be in place to ensure that the crowd in cemeteries on such days will be limited only to their respective capacities.

According to the guidelines released by the Cebu City government, a limited crowd will be allowed to enter the relatively big cemeteries.

Only 300 people at a time will be allowed inside the Pardo Cemetery; 250 inside the Labangon Cemetery; 350 inside the Calamba Cemetery;170 inside the Cabantan Cemetery;150 inside the Talamban Cemetery; 450 inside the Carreta Cemetery (under the Cathedral); and 110 inside the Carreta Cemetery (under Santo Rosario).

Private cemeteries, on the other hand, will be allowed to admit up to 10% of their maximum capacity.

“So once nga maaabot na ni sya sa limit, maghuwat ang uban diri sa gawas, maglinya,” said Parilla.

Rules

CCPO chief Colonel Josefino Ligan said the operators of these cemeteries have proposed collecting an ID from a visitor before the latter will be allowed to enter which they will have to leave at the booth outside. The visitor will then be issued another ID indicating they can only stay inside for an hour.

The time of entry will be recorded, said Ligan.

“Naa may nakabutang didto sa specific guidelines nga you may enforce color-coding scheme para sa mga tawo na mosulod just to determine ang period time nga naa siya sa sulod para katong uban makabisita na pud,” he said.

Under the color-coding scheme, a flag will be provided to each individual who will enter, indicating that his one-hour allowable time inside the cemetery has begun.

Parilla added that security enforcers will be on the ground all the time to control and oversee the crown situation.

About 380 police personnel from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB)-7 will be deployed in Cebu City as augmentation force.

“Katong gibutang nato sa QCP (quarantine control points), ato sa tong i-pull out, atong i-distribute sa atong mga cemeteries,” he said.

Ligan, for his part, said the chiefs of police assigned at the five identified big cemeteries in the city will be meeting with the different cemetery administrators to finalize their enforcement on the one-hour allowable time rule.

As the police manning the entry points will prohibit the entry of bladed weapons most of the time during the allowed date of visitations, Parilla said the public is given up to October 25 to clean up the areas they want to visit.

During this time, they are allowed to bring in tools that will be used to clean.

Fully vaxxed only on Nov. 1, 2

Parilla said the “open house” category on October 18-30 means that anyone may be allowed to enter the cemeteries, regardless of the status of his or her vaccination.

“But on November 1 and 2, kinahanglan nga fully vaccinated ra gyud ang makasud,” he said.

“So atong panawagan sa publiko nga kung pwede magsugod na sila og bisita sa atong menteryo kay basin maabtan sila sa kadaghan og tawo sa (November) 1 and 2,”he added.

Also, on November 1 and 2, the one-hour rule inside cemeteries will still be enforced.

There will also be limited entry of vehicles within the vicinity of the cemeteries. However, parking spaces will be designated about 500 meters away from the cemetery premises.

Starting yesterday, security forces on the ground will be giving hourly reports on their monitoring of the cemeteries.

Vendors complain

Meanwhile, some vendors have complained of bleak sales for not being allowed to approach cemetery visitors as they are required to stay at designated vending places only located about 30 meters from the cemetery entrances.

After the start of the “open house” admission” yesterday, vendors said they were able to sell out a few flowers and candles as they were far from their customers.

Councilor David Tumulak, who made his rounds at the cemeteries yesterday, also confirmed receiving complaints from vendors.

“Reklamo lagi tawn mga vendors kay gipagawas sila,” said Tumulak.

But acting Mayor Michael Rama promised to fine-tune the rules, especially considering that the same have just been implemented.

“In line with our Kalag-Kalag directive, together with our CCPO, City Hall, and barangay frontline teams, we will visit all cemeteries to see to it that everything is in order, and everyone is prepared for contingencies,” said Rama in a press statement.

The City Health Department has already started its ocular inspection on cemeteries, according to its officer-in-charge, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones. — Caecent No-ot Magsumbol, Decemay P. Padilla, JMD (FREEMAN)