Bulacan, Bataan are top Lenten destinations

MALOLOS, Bulacan, Philippines – With the expected Holy Week exodus of Catholic devotees to various pilgrimage sites in Bulacan, Bataan and other provinces near Metro Manila, local and provincial officials have coordinated with security and emergency response teams to address the influx of visitors.

Among the pilgrimage sites in Bulacan that are often visited by travelers are the Divine Mercy Shrine in the town of Marilao; the procession of saints in Baliwag; the Banal na Bundok with the Stations of the Cross in San Miguel town; the Grotto Shrine in San Jose Del Monte City and the crucifixion site in Barangay Kapitangan in Paombong where at least five faith healers have themselves nailed on wooden crosses at the man-made Golgotha beside the village’s Catholic chapel.

Noting that their province is home to crowd-drawing Lenten sites, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado said they will put up public assistance centers and place emergency response teams on alert to help visitors.

Fully booked

In Bataan, beach resorts in the towns of Bagac and Morong are almost fully booked for the Holy Week, according to the municipal mayors and tourism officers.

Provincial tourism officer Danica Tigas on Friday said there are 48 registered beach resorts in Morong and 16 in Bagac, all adjacent to the blue waters of the West Philippine Sea.

“Our resorts are 99 percent booked until May,” Morong Mayor Jorge Estanislao said.

More than 41,000 tourists went to Morong last year, making the mountainous town the second most visited area of Bataan, next to Balanga City.

The province ranked third in Region 3 among those with the most number of tourist arrivals, next to Subic (Zambales) and Clark (Pampanga).

Heightened alert

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police will maintain its heightened alert level in all police units in Luzon and the Visayas during the Holy Week.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo yesterday said the heightened alert status aims to ensure maximum availability of personnel and resources for law enforcement and public safety operations during the holidays.

Placed under heightened alert are police units in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B and 5 in Luzon and in Regions 6, 7 and 8 in the Visayas.

Cerbo said that regional directors in these areas are given the discretion to elevate the alert status of their offices or units, depending on the developing situation in their respective areas of responsibility.

He said all six Mindanao-based police regional offices remain under full alert status in response to the prevailing security situation in those areas.

Cerbo reminded all PNP unit commanders to maintain security in vital installations, economic key points as well as places of convergence and ensure a high state of operational readiness during the Holy Week and deter criminal activities.

PNP units in insurgency-affected areas in the country are also under alert against hostilities that may be launched by the New People’s Army (NPA) in connection with their 46th anniversary today.

Cerbo said that the NPA usually launches armed attacks to highlight celebrations of significant events in the underground movement. – With Mike Frialde, Ric Sapnu