■ DISASTER TEAMS PREP FOR CALOY’S RAIN, PLUS HEAT AS HOLY WEEK PEAKS

Mandaue’s City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CDRRM) Office is preparing for the rains that tropical depression Caloy may bring and the unusual heat, after that, that may felt in the rest of the Holy Week.

CDRRM Officer Felix Suico Jr. said he will deploy medical teams in the different churches and terminals in Mandaue, where crowds are expected.

In a press conference yesterday, Suico said that his office is closely monitoring the movement of the tropical depression because it might bring rains that would affect low-lying areas or those that are landslide-prone, like Barangays Tawason, Casili, and Cubacub.

All the churches, he assured, will have an emergency team. The CRRM will be on blue alert from Wednesday to Black Saturday, which means that even those who are supposed to be taking the day off are on call in case of emergencies.

At least 32 CDRMM Office personnel will be deployed in the churches and terminals in the city. Suico said there are eight parishes in Mandaue.

Members of the barangay DRRM will also help the CDRRM personnel monitor the churches.

“We will ask for the schedule of different activities in the churches. We have safety tips for all churchgoers,” said Suico.

Suico advised churchgoers to bring umbrellas, water and necessary medicines in case they end up staying longer in church than they’d expected.

On Easter Sunday, a team will be sent to Pahara mini park under the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge, as more people than usual are likely to go swimming on that day.