For Holy Week rush: Security tightened

CEBU, Philippines — With a lot of people expected to head home starting today, Wednesday—traditionally a half-day and the last working day before the long Holy Week break—the Cebu City government has beefed up its preparations, setting security measures in place and heightening medical and disaster responses.

Yesterday, April 15, Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia led the inspection of the Cebu City Port Terminal 1 to evaluate its passenger terminal and the docking station.

In an interview with reporters, Garcia assessed the current situation of the port terminal to be well-

prepared for the possible influx of passengers, adding that the management has been implementing the same security template for years now.

He, however, said that the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) is expressing concerns about the capacity of the offices. Garcia said he will leave the resolution to the management of the CPA.

“Ang akoa lang since it falls under the jurisdiction of the city of Cebu, dapat ang muanhi diri, kay jurisdiction pa man ni nato, dapat prepared ang city of Cebu to any other eventuality,” said Garcia.

In line with these preparations, Garcia said they will be stationing personnel from the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), paramedics, the local force of the Philippine National Police, and a number of ambulances in major areas.

As of yesterday, after his inspection, Garcia said he is satisfied with how the preparations have gone so far in Cebu City.

Garcia noted that they will conduct another wave of inspections today to also check on the churches and bus terminals. He also said that he has directed the strengthening of personnel deployment around the bus terminals.

He further said that he will be checking on the flow of the annual “Bisita Iglesia,” as people are expected to converge and leave their respective homes behind.

“Remember nga naay ubang mulakaw gyud, that’s why it is very important nga standby gyud ta, we will never know what will happen, so we will prepare for the worst,” said Garcia.

Garcia also reminded the police and traffic personnel to consider the safety of the masses with utmost importance. He also directed the beefing up of security measures in all convergence areas.

He assured that CDRRMO personnel are now on standby and are ready to respond at any time.

As the observance of Lent looms, Garcia calls upon the people to practice caution and be mindful of the weather, especially with the increasing heat index in the city due to the dry season.

“To protect themselves from the heat of the sun and at the same time to reflect. This is a time to reflect, to be with your family, to bond with your family and hoping nga things will get better for our families and our beloved city,” said Garcia.

Previously, it was also reported that Police Lt. Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, spokesperson for the Cebu City Police Office, said that after the coordination conference with the city government, they have extended their security preparations from Holy Week through the summer season.

According to Macatangay, they have already anticipated public convergence, which led them to also direct their attention to securing areas that may be left unattended, to prevent possible robberies.

For this Holy Week, Macatangay said they began implementing security measures last Palm Sunday. As of now, she added, their alert level remains at normal status, but they are continuously monitoring the situation to determine if there is a need to heighten it in the coming days.

“Again, dayon dayon na ni sya, until the election,” said Macatangay. — (FREEMAN)