BUTUAN CITY – The Police Regional Office in Caraga (PRO-13) will deploy around 1,200 police officers for Undas next month even if local governments have temporarily banned visitors in all cemeteries amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
“The deployment of police personnel is to ensure the peaceful and orderly observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in Caraga region,” said PRO-13 director, Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. in a press statement Tuesday.
Police personnel will be deployed mainly in cemeteries, airports, terminals, memorial parks, and main thoroughfares to perform public safety services before, during, and even after the observance of Undas, Caramat said.
“Based on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) Resolution No. 72, all private and public cemeteries, memorial parks and columbaria will be closed to visitors from October 29, 2020, to November 4, 2020,” Caramat pointed out.
He also reminded Caraga residents that cemetery visit is allowed before and after Undas but with a limited number of visitors to a maximum of 30 percent of the venue capacity.
“All preventive measures such as the wearing of face masks, face shields, and physical distancing are mandatory,” Caramat said.
He added that other prohibitions inside the cemeteries, such as bringing alcoholic beverages, bladed weapons, firearms, and gambling materials, will also be strictly enforced throughout the region.
“The security preparations of the police force in Caraga have been laid out earlier to deter criminals and lawless elements from exploiting the occasion,” Caramat said. (PNA)
