PNP tells Pinoys: Fear the living, not the dead

As millions of Filipinos trooped to the cemeteries yesterday to honor their dead, authorities renewed warnings against criminal elements taking advantage of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day to prey on unsuspecting victims.

“Look after your belongings and even your children. Be not afraid of the dead. Be on guard against the living,” a male voice blared over a public address system at the entrance to a memorial park in Novaliches, Quezon City.

“There are those who are here to take advantage of the occasion and victimize visitors here.”

Superintendent Crisostomo Mendoza, commander of the Quezon City Police District-Station 4, said the situation at the cemeteries was generally peaceful. But he stressed his men were under instructions to be always on alert. The QCPD-Station 4 covers the Novaliches area, where a number of cemeteries in the city are located.

Dozens of policemen were stationed outside cemeteries and memorial parks as ordered by police director Chief Superintendent Mario de la Vega.

Visitors’ belongings were checked for prohibited items like firearms, knives, illegal drugs and alcohol.

Mendoza noted that while there had been no arrests, a number of prohibited items were confiscated at the entrance of the cemeteries.

More than 10,100 road safety marshals were deployed nationwide to ensure a peaceful and orderly observance of All Saints’ Day, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said. Based on the Church calendar, All Souls’ Day is supposed to be observed today.

PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome led other officials in a last minute inspection of some cemeteries, airports, seaports and bus terminals across the country.

“Security measures are in place and people going to cemeteries for their departed heeded repeated reminders by the authorities not to bring anything prohibited for an orderly observance of Undas,” Police Officer 2 Marceliano Guting, of the NPD-Tactical Operation Center, told The STAR.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Leonardo Espina reported at least one case of foiled robbery at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

He said reports reaching him showed one Reynaldo Flora, 29, was arrested for stealing the handbag of Noime San Jose, 41.

San Jose said she was visiting the tomb of a loved one when she noticed Flora walking away with her handbag.

She shouted for help, alerting roving policemen and security guards who arrested Flora. The suspect yielded the handbag of San Jose containing a camera and P35,000 cash.

More than 40 people, meanwhile, were apprehended at the Manila North Cemetery for various offenses like drinking alcohol and taking illegal drugs. Twenty-two people were held for having drinking session at the cemetery.

Eight minors were nabbed for taking part in a rumble and seven others were arrested for gambling.

Police and soldiers also reported attempts to smuggle in liquor by climbing the cemetery walls.

At the Sangandaan public cemetery in Caloocan City, barangay councilman Rodel Binol said the crowds that visited the cemeteries yesterday were “well-organized as compared to last year.”

“People have learned and the authorities’ long preparation for an orderly observance of Undas have paid off. We have not monitored any problem, let’s see All Souls’ Day,” Binol said.

Edgardo Piania, supervisor of the Malabon City Public Safety and Traffic Management Office, said this year’s preparation for Undas was “well-coordinated from the flow of vehicles to the people going to cemeteries.”

“The people follow safety reminders and the authorities have long been preparing for the event,” Piania said.

Less garbage

“It was peaceful and very organized. The traffic was also light and there was no trouble inside the cemeteries,” Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager Corazon Jimenez told The STAR.

“First time at the Loyola (Memorial Park) in Marikina to have no garbage. Traffic management was also very systematic,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez likened the situation at Loyola and at the Eternal Gardens in Caloocan City to a “picnic campsite.”

“As a whole, we made it. We had disciplined people to take care of their garbage,” she said.

Jimenez said coordination between the MMDA and the various local government units and cemetery administrators contributed immensely to the improved conditions inside the cemeteries.

The MMDA fielded 2,378 personnel from its traffic management, clearing and emergency response units to the 29 public and private cemeteries in Metro Manila yesterday.

“This has worked well. We are improving each year with our participative discussions,” she said.

Aris Caragay of the MMDA North Sector also noted improvements in traffic situation around cemeteries compared to last year.

“Generally, it’s okay for we have traffic officers in cooperation with the local traffic enforcers, the police and the village leaders who help in maintaining peace and order at cemeteries and their immediate vicinity,” he said.

The MMDA will start cleaning up Metro Manila cemeteries beginning today at the Manila North Cemetery and the Manila South Cemetery. Last year, the MMDA collected close to 200 truckloads of garbage from three cemeteries.

Festivity

As has been characteristic of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day through generations, yesterday’s commemoration combined Catholic religious rites with the Filpino’s penchant for festivity.

At Marikina’s Loyola Memorial Park, one of the city’s biggest private cemeteries, families had camped overnight, pitched tents and brought in food for a day-long All Saints’ Day picnic by the graves of their dead.

In crowded public cemeteries elsewhere across the city of 15 million, police confiscated alcoholic beverages and banned gambling to maintain peace and order.

Hundreds of medics and volunteers also set up field clinics to provide medical assistance. Radio reports said many had fainted due to the extreme heat in densely packed cemeteries.

“This occasion serves as our family reunion,” said Fely de Leon, a retired 80-yearold businesswoman as she laid out an assortment of food on small tables around the plots of their departed.

“We will be here for the rest of the day, and we expect more or less 30 family members to arrive,” she said.

Nearby, loud music blared from a portable karaoke machine – singing is a national pastime – as a family ignored appeals from the Catholic Church to keep the occasion solemn.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), meanwhile, warned the public against fake priests roaming the cemeteries and reciting prayers for unsuspecting families in exchange for monetary donations.

And for millions of Catholic Filipinos overseas who could not come home to visit their dead, the CBCP said it had put up a special portal (www.undasonline.com) where they could log on and request special prayers and masses.

The site also offers podcasts on the significance and liturgical meanings of All Saints’ Day, it said.

Meanwhile, the military said it is prepared for the deluge of visitors to the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Col. Renato Verceles, chief of the Army’s Grave Services Unit, said preparations have been undertaken to ensure the convenience of cemetery visitors today and the rest of the weekend. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Non Alquitran, Mike Frialde, Sandy Araneta, Pete Laude, Alexis Romero, AFP