SOME roads leading to or near churches in Cebu City will be temporarily closed on Dec. 24, 2020 and on Dec. 31 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. for the holding of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve masses.
The roads include F. Llamas St. corner E. Sabellano St. near the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Barangay Punta Princesa; L. Gabuya St. near the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Roque in Barangay Mambaling; Edison St. in front of Saint Therese Church in Barangay Lahug; southbound lane of N. Bacalso Ave., starting from the corner of Don Vicente Rama Memorial Elementary School to corner USJ-R Basak Campus, leading to Holy Cross Parish; and a portion of N. Bacalso Ave. near Santo Tomas de Villanueva Parish in Barangay Pardo.
The other roads that will be closed include a portion of
Osmeña Blvd. beside Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu; P. Burgos St. near Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral; P. Del Rosario St. near Sto. Rosario Church; Talamban road near San Isidro Labrador Parish Church; and C. Padilla St. near San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish in Barangay Sawang Calero.
A resolution sponsored by City Councilor Dave Tumulak and approved by the City Council urges the motorists and vehicle drivers to slow down in approaching the vicinity of the churches for the safety of the churchgoers.
Tumulak said portions of these roads will be used by the churchgoers who cannot be accommodated inside the churches.
Giving more space to the churchgoers will help them to observe the social distancing policy, Tumulak said.
The closing of roads is one of the measures being implemented by the City Government following the number of churchgoers attending the Misa de Gallo (dawn mass), as well as the Simbang Gabi (anticipated mass).
Minors
City Councilor Joel Garganera, who sits as Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy chief implementer, said only four minors had been transported back to their barangays in the eight day of dawn mass, Dec. 23.
In the past days, more than 20 minors had been brought back to their barangays.
The City prohibits minors below 15 years old and senior citizens above 65 years old to attend the dawn masses.
Garganera said all the policies which have been put in place for the last eight dawn masses will be strictly enforced for Christmas Eve mass on the night of Dec. 24.
These include road closure, reblocking of egress and ingress, putting up of markers, deployment of Kaoshiong buses used as temporary holding area for quarantine violators, installation of lights, audio and video screen outside the church, and proper coordination of the church and the barangays.
Garganera said the City also distributed masks and face shields to the violators in the past days. (JJL)