Cops to secure bus terminals for long weekend

MANILA, Philippines – Police in Metro Manila will secure bus terminals and maintain order and security when people go home to the provinces for All Saints’ Day.

Metro Manila police commander Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said thousands of people are expected to crowd bus terminals on Friday, especially after office hours.

“I’m warning petty criminals from taking advantage of the situation because we would be in every nook and corner of bus terminals to monitor and arrest them,” he said.

Bartolome directed his five district directors to prepare re-routing plans for big cemeteries like the Manila North, La Loma and Chinese cemeteries in Manila; Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina; and Manila South Cemetery in Makati.

Vehicle parking areas must be far from cemeteries, he added.

Bartolome said police deployment would be maximized to prevent the entry of handguns, bladed weapons, and liquor in cemeteries.

Public assistance centers will be put up at the entrances to cemeteries to guide and assist the public, especially senior citizens, he added.

LTO to ‘preach’ to reckless drivers

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) enforcers, meanwhile, will not arrest reckless drivers in Metro Manila from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, but will give them a thorough lecture instead, an official said yesterday.

LTO chief Virginia Torres said the LTO enforcers “will promote road safety tips, focusing on defensive driving and road courtesy” as part of the agency’s defensive driving and values formation campaign.

She said the LTO “preachers” will also cover public transport drivers at various bus and jeepney terminals in Metro Manila.

“We all know that one of the primary reasons of many unwanted vehicular accidents is the undisciplined driver who tends to flare up for very slight reasons,” Torres said.

LTO National Capital Region director Camilo Guarin said the agency will also deploy enforcers at the exit points of provincial buses at the South and North Luzon Expressways to preach road safety to undisciplined motorists. – Non Alquitran, Rainier Allan Ronda