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Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Police deem All Saints's Day peaceful
MANILA -- Police said Tuesday the observance of All Saints' Day in the metro was "generally peaceful".
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Vidal Querol said that as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, they had yet to receive a report of any untoward incident from police units deployed in various cemeteries in Metro Manila.
Querol said the entire police force, especially the Metro Manila police, will remain on full alert until Friday when Muslim Filipinos celebrate Eid'l Fitr or Feast of the Ramadan.
He said security and preventive measures are still in place in all public transportation facilities as many Filipinos from different provinces would be traveling back to Manila Tuesday to report for work Wednesday.
The police official said help desks and assistance networks in land, air, and sea terminals are being maintained to ensure the convenience, safety and security of passengers.
Policemen and members of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) were deployed in the field to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and the security of passengers.
Querol visited several cemeteries in the metropolis to assess the situation there.
National Police Chief Arturo Lomibao said he made an aerial inspection of key areas in Metro Manila and nearby regions on board a helicopter.
Lomibao ordered all policemen in the field to be on guard while the metro's inhabitants return to Metro Manila. He also reiterated his appeal to the public to be extra patient and to cooperate with the police in the conduct of security measures.
Also on Tuesday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her family visited the graves of their parents and relatives.
She first went to the tomb of her mother, Evangelina Macaraeg Macapagal, at the Manila North Cemetery early Tuesday morning. The First Family stayed there for a half hour, after which they proceeded to the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City to pay their respects to First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo's parents--Ignacio Arroyo Sr. and Lourdes Tuason-Arroyo--and they also stayed for a half hour.
The Arroyo family then proceeded to the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City at 3 p.m. Tuesday to visit the graves of the President's father, former President Diosdado Macapagal.
Two hours after the Arroyo family left the Manila North Cemetery, Susan Roces, wife of the late movie icon and former opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr., arrived to offer prayers and flowers to Poe, who died of a massive stroke last year.
Roces refused any media interviews and appealed the journalists to respect her wish, saying she wanted to devote her time to attending to the tomb of her late husband.
In some cemeteries in Manila, Fr. Robert Reyes, a known Arroyo critic, is leading a signature campaign for the ouster of President Arroyo. He asked the crowd to support the removal from office of the "illegitimate government".
Several militants also commemorated All Saints' Day by trooping to the streets to denounce the implementation of the expanded value-added tax law. They paraded a coffin along Recto Avenue in Manila to they mourn over the implementation of the tax law which, they said, is another burden on the poor. (JFF/Sunnex)
(November 2, 2005 issue)
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