Policemen, Army ready for All Saints' Day

At least 500 policemen will be deployed by the Eastern Police District to man strategic areas during the observance of the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 1 and 2.

EPD director Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo dela Cruz said that aside from uniformed policemen, civilian volunteers will also help in maintaining peace and order in cemeteries.

Dela Paz warned criminal elements against taking advantage of the situation because they would intensify deployment of mobile and foot patrols in areas vacated by people who are paying homage to their loved ones.

The EPD is composed of Mandaluyong City, Pasig, Marikina and San Juan City.

De la Cruz said the Marikina City police would properly secure the Loyola Memorial Park where celebrities like actress Nida Blanca were buried.

Additionally, Southern Police District Director Jaime Calungsod yesterday said they will intensify patrolling activities including enforcement of security measures in cemeteries and bus terminals situated in southern Metro Manila during the weekend.  

“Police visibility will be intensified so that the safety of the general public is assured especially because many will be going home to the provinces,” he said in an interview.

There will be policemen assigned to check on the situation in these bus stations and make sure that passengers are safe.

Earlier, the Muntinlupa City government said it will create a task force that will implement security measures and provide assistance to the public especially to city residents who will troop to the cemeteries starting tomorrow until Nov. 2.

Watch on columbaries

Moreover, thieves who are planning to shift from preying on victims in the cemeteries to targeting well-off people visiting columbaries will be faced with stricter security measures in Quezon City, a police official said yesterday.

There are three columbaries – one each in Barangays Tatalon, Doña Imelda and Mariana – under the area of responsibility of the QCPD-Station 11.

Columbaries are depositories of urns containing ashes of cremated remains. 

“Those who are visiting these columbaries are well-to-do families and the criminals know this,” a police official said.

One of the things that the police will be focusing on will be the vehicles of the visitors, some of which are most likely to be parked along the streets once the designated parking spaces become fully occupied.

And if these vehicles are parked along the sidewalk, these could become targets of thieves, especially those who smash car windows to steal valuables inside the vehicles.

For his part, Superintendent Renato Valebia, commander of the QCPD-Station 4, also expressed preparedness in handling the influx of visitors who will be trooping to the three cemeteries in the Novaliches area.

These cemeteries are the Holy Cross Cemetery and the Bagbag and Novaliches Public Cemeteries.

Senior Inspector Leo Escat, operations chief of the police station, said that starting today, they will already be deploying policemen in these three cemeteries.

Escat said there will also be plainclothes policemen doing the rounds at the cemeteries.

Valebia reminded the public of the items prohibited inside the cemeteries: bladed weapons, firearms, liquor, playing cards and other items for gambling.

Escat also urged the public to immediately report any untoward incident or suspicious packages that could contain explosive devices so the police could immediately act on their concerns.

Inspection Arnulfo Franco, chief of the QCPD’s Explosives and Ordnance Division, also said they will be using equipment and aids like a P2.8-million portable X-ray machine and bomb sniffing dogs to look into suspicious looking packages at bus terminals.

At least more than a thousand soldiers were placed on alert in Metro Manila to ensure a secure observance of All Saints’ Day, a military spokesman said.

Captain Carlo Ferrer, spokesman of the military’s National Capital Region Command said yesterday they have enough forces on standby to augment the police to address any eventuality.

He said the NCRCOM has been placed on red alert status since last week, when President Arroyo left for China to attend the Asia-Euro Conference.

Ferrer said that so far, they have not monitored any serious security that would mar the peace and solemnity of the occasion.

“We don’t need to have a special contingency plan for that, our forces are always ready to be deployed to address any eventuality,” he said. – With Rhodina Villanueva, James Mananghaya