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Sunday, October 31, 2004
Cops alerted on liquor smuggling in cemetery
BAGUIO CITY -- Police officers will be on the lookout for fresh diggings at the over-crowded cemetery here as thousands of people are set to visit the graves of their loved ones on Sunday and Monday.
It has been a Filipino tradition to visit the burial grounds of their departed relatives during All Saints and All Souls Day.
City Police Director Isagani Nerez alerted his men to suspicious diggings in-between tombs following reports that, in previous years, liquor was being smuggled into the cemetery and buried days before All Saints Day to escape detection.
Bringing in and drinking intoxicants, weapons, together with gambling and blaring music that disrupt the solemnity of the observance, are again prohibited, as per the guidelines set by the "Oplan Kaluluwa" committee headed by Councilor Galo Weygan.
To beef up peace and security efforts, Nerez has assigned five police teams in various areas of and around the cemetery grounds. Ten officers from the Regional Mobile Group, junior police, barangay tanod and Boy Scout volunteers will assist them.
The cemetery compound was closed to vehicles starting 5:00 a.m. to ease congestion caused by human traffic. Only water delivery trucks, ambulances and police cars will be allowed inside.
In Cebu, until Saturday night at the Cebu South Bus Terminal, the number of passengers scrambling for a ride home for All Saints' and All Souls' Days continued to swell.
Land Transportation Office (LTO) Patrol Officer Ursicio Rosos said they had a hard time controlling the crowd as of 6 p.m.
At seaports, Coast Guard (CG) and shipping lines prepared makeshift accommodations in case passengers were stranded.
CG Petty Officer III Fernando Sabanal said that as of 6 p.m., all passengers had been served well by the shipping lines.
Operatives from the provincial command and the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 augmented security at the seaports and the bus terminal.
No favors
Rosos said five policemen from the Provincial Mobile Group, two from PRO 7 and members of the Traffic Management Group helped maintain peace and order at the terminal.
He denied accusations that they tolerated the practice of reserving seats for buses for a fee of P10. He said those caught would be fined P1,000.
Some drivers and bus helpers reserve seats for a fee during peak passenger seasons, like All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
But except for a minibus plying the Pinamungajan-Cebu City route that traffic authorities impounded because of an expired franchise, there was no problem at the terminal.
Rosos said scaling bus windows to get a seat was not allowed and passengers caught would be asked to get off the bus.
At seaports, eight to 10 policemen manned the assistance centers set up to address passengers' complaints. Policemen in cars and on bicycles also patrolled the port. (With AIV of Sun.Star Cebu)
(October 31, 2004 issue)
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