Residents told: Don’t leave houses unattended on Undas

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) urged Dabawenyos to secure their houses should they leave these for the observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day because robbers might just be waiting on the wings.

"Kinahanglan nga i-padlock og maayo para dili masudlan tapos ipabilin sa mga silingan (They should make sure to padlock their houses so that robbers won't get inside and ask the neighbors to keep an eye on their houses)," said DCPO chief Senior Superintendent Ronald dela Rosa in Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao.

The official added that robbers usually take advantage of the Undas to burglarize unattended homes since even the police are concentrating on the cemeteries.

Dela Rosa said more than 1,000 policemen will be deployed throughout the city to ensure peace and order.

This number will be augmented by the Task Force Davao (TFD), Davao Public Safety Battalion, and Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao, which will also deploy additional troops to heighten security measures in the city.

For his part, Traffic Management Center (TMC) chief Retired Colonel Desiderio Cloribel said about 200 traffic enforcers will be sent out to the big cemeteries in the city.

But in order to reduce traffic congestion, Cloribel called on cemetery administrators not to allow private vehicles to park where pedestrian traffic will be highest.

Vendors, too, must not be allowed to set up booths where they can cause congestion.

As usual, traffic will be rerouted.

"No entry for vehicles coming from the south to Davao Memorial Park. All private vehicles should take the Quimpo Boulevard then turn left to Tulip Drive," he said.

MacArthur Highway in Matina will be passable to public transportation, thus people can just commute to Davao Memorial Park.

For other cemeteries, Cloribel said the entry road will be to San Rafael Subdivision going to Forest Lake Memorial Park. Visitors of San Pedro Memorial Park will pass through the private road along Marfori Heights Subdivision II.

"For Buhangin Memorial Park, it's still one-way," he said.