VICE Mayor Michael Rama will meet members of the police coordinating and advisory council (PCAC) as well as representatives of concerned sectors for Cebu City to prepare for the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

He said he wants to know how the police have prepared themselves for the observance.

That, as Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Lani-o Nerez hopes local chief executives will not grant permits to hold tigbakay on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Nerez said this was so the police could focus on securing cemeteries, streets and transport terminals.

He said that if tigbakays are held, they will have to include these in their security plans.

Nerez also said that liquor, weapons and sound systems will not be allowed inside cemeteries and that personnel assigned to secure the cemeteries will make sure to confiscate these.

He assured that police officers will not just focus on the cemeteries but also the immediate vicinities, on the streets and transport terminals and wharfs.

He wants 24-hour visibility on these days.

Nerez said the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) 7 will be fielded to augment the forces of other police offices, especially in Cebu City.

Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Patrocinio Comendador said the mobile outposts along the streets of Colon and Magallanes will be moved to the Carreta and Calamba cemeteries to be used as public assistance stations for the two-day observance.

Comendador supported the request of PRO 7 to local chief executives not to issue permits to organizers of tigbakay during the two-day observance.

He, however, said it is up to the concerned local government units to decide on the matter as the police can merely request or suggest.

Police will be deployed to the cemeteries starting this Friday until Nov. 3.

Strict implementation of the liquor ban and anti-noise ordinance will also be enforced in the cemeteries.

Bladed weapons are also prohibited inside the cemeteries.

Gang and fraternity-related violence is among the top concerns the city police force has identified that should be given focus, Comendador said.

Assistance

Meanwhile, the Talisay City Police Office will set up public assistance centers in five public cemeteries to ensure peaceful and orderly observance of the All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day.

Talisay City Police Chief Henry Biñas said people can seek help from the personnel of the assistance centers while lawmen can also immediately respond to any problem or untoward incident during the two-day observance.

Police are anticipating problems on heavy traffic, lost children and gang-related crimes.

At least four policemen will be assigned in each of the five cemeteries with traffic policemen, tanods and members of a crime watch volunteers group backing them up.

These are the Cebu Evergreen Memorial Garden in Barangay San Roque, the Cebu South Memorial Park in Lawaan I and three public cemeteries in Poblacion, Cansojong and Tanke.

Violence

The policemen are under instruction to disperse any gathering of gang members as one way to avoid violence and bloody confrontation with other groups.

Biñas said that a bomb disposal team and the special reaction unit of the Cebu Provincial Police Office are on call for emergencies.

Apart from security measures, police will also strictly enforce local ordinances that ban liquor, firearms, bladed weapons and videoke or karaoke singing inside the cemetery.

Starting Oct. 31, Talisay City will be placed on heightened alert by deploying patrol cops and setting up checkpoints in strategic points.

The Cebu Provincial Police Office will also include “important facilities” in their list of areas to secure.

Deputy provincial director for operations Romeo Perigo said he has been tasked to oversee the security implementation in northern Cebu while deputy provincial director for administration, Supt. Larson Dechino, will do the same for the southern towns and cities.

Perigo also told reporters that they will begin implementing the security plan the day before All Saints’ Day.

Deployment

Some members of the Special Reaction Unit will be at the Cebu South Bus Terminal while personnel from different units under the CPPO headquarters will be on standby for deployment to other areas.

Perigo said police stations were ordered to conduct patrols in residential areas in case criminal elements plan to burglarize homes while owners are at the cemeteries.

Like Comendador and Biñas, Perigo urged homeowners not to leave their houses unattended and suggested that at least one family member is left to stay in the house.

“Cebu is very big. We cannot cover all areas,” Perigo said.

CPPO Director Jesus Gaquing also asked that if other government agencies plan to put up police assistance centers, they could join the police as they will also be setting these up for the observance of the holidays.

In another development, Rama has asked the city police to look into the state of the islands of Osmeña Blvd. that are vandalized with anti-government graffiti.

He said the matter is no longer about cleanliness but already a peace and order concern, as perpetrators have committed vandalism right next to the offices of the police.

The portion that used to be Jones Ave. of the whole stretch, is painted with words expressing discontent over the current government and its policies.

The Fuente Police Station is just near one end of the road while the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Headquarters inside Camp Sergio Osmeña is on the opposite end at the downtown area.

“They violate the law nga naay institutions duol like the PNP. The offense is committee within their (PNP) own backyard. It is about time that they get out and watch the area,” said Rama, who is the PCAC chairman.

Rama said the meeting tomorrow will not include the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators, Inc. (PADPAO)-7.

He said it is because he already asked PADPAO to prevent, as much as possible, the proliferation of graffiti in the city because its security guards are stationed almost everywhere.

He wanted the meeting to make sure that areas of concern are identified and amply watched by the police.

“I want them not to lower their guard and not to think of covering all, only to end up not covering (anything) at all,” the vice mayor said.

Among those he identified to attend are the traders, parish security group representatives, tanods, and the City Traffic Operations Management. (RHM/MEA/JTG/GC)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 28, 2009.