Safe shopping
WHEN caught in a crush of shoppers hunting for holiday gifts, you cannot help thinking about it with a sense of trepidation.
Long lines to the counters and people flocking to discount bins have a way of putting that Christmas spirit in check while thinking of safety because of the possibility of danger posed by human congestion in a closed setting.
It has been 10 years since the last deadly fire hit a shopping center at the height of Christmas shopping. The Unitop department store in Ormoc City caught fire on Christmas day of 2006, a sad incident where 27 people died on the day meant to celebrate Jesus's birth. That incident is a cautionary tale about safety in shopping centers as Filipinos rush to malls to finish their holiday shopping.
Fire officials in major cities, including Cebu, ordered safety checks after that Ormoc incident to prevent a repetition. Inspected by fire departments were malls, bargain centers, small shops for discount hunters. As I wrote then, the bigger malls are more able to ensure order during last-minute shopping sprees, except smaller bazaars have an attraction to those with smaller-sized pockets.
Emergency exits are to be clear of obstruction, signs should be promi- nent enough to guide people away from any danger, and flammable materials like firecrackers should not be sold inside these areas. These were among the lessons establishments learned from that deadly blaze.
Shops and stores should remember these lessons especially in the next days when people do panic buying for the holidays.
*** Those unable to go to Church at dawn may still participate in the misa de gallo until December 24 via live streaming by Sun.Star on its website.
At sunstar.com.ph, viewers may watch the dawn masses held at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral every 4:30 a.m. There will also be simultaneous live streaming of 4 a.m. masses in some churches in Cebu, including Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church of El Pardo, Cebu City (December 16 and 19); St. Joseph The Worker Parish Church in Tabunok, Talisay City (December 17 and 23); Our Lady of the Rule Parish Church in B.M. Dimataga St., Lapu-Lapu City (December 20, 21 and 22); Sta. Teresa de Avila Parish in Talisay City (December 18); and Don Bosco Formation Center in Talisay City (December 24).
Those who have watched the dawn masses so far include people from outside of Cebu or the Philippines. The online special by Sun.Star is meant to promote the Christmas spirit to Filipinos, wherever they are located.
The misa de gallo or simbang gabi is a special dispensation from Rome practised only in the Philippines, the website reported. It is also called the misa de aguinaldo (aguinaldo means gift). By waking up early in the morning, this is the Catholic faithful's “aguinaldo” to the Lord for the gift of Jesus Christ, the Savior.
A replay may be viewed at http:// specials.sunstar.com.ph/philippinechristmas, as well as on Facebook at SunStar Philippines. Check out also the #HugotsaPasko episodes for a bit of fun.