CEBU, Philippines - Despite a stabbing incident that injured two people inside a cemetery in Cordova town and dead person found in public cemetery in Borbon, police officials said the observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day in Cebu was “generally peaceful.”
Cebu Provincial Police Office director Senior Superintendent Noel Gillamac attributed the peaceful observance to the non-declaration of holiday on November 2 and the intermittent weather.
Gillamac said that they have noticed lesser number of people visiting the cemetery this year compared to last year.
“Lesser people compared last year kay dili man long holiday. So far walay mga incident inside sa cemetery except sa cemetery sa Borbon. Ang ato sang weather usahay mo-ulan usahay mo-init,” Gillamac said.
Renato Moneva, 34, of Sitio Lunas, Cadaruhan in Borbon, was found dead in a public cemetery yesterday morning.
Police Officer 2 Rogelio Sinadjan, desk officer of Borbon Police Station, said Moneva was believed to have died of natural cause because of the absence of any signs of foul play.
In fact, the members of the family refused to submit Moneva’s body for autopsy.
Stabbing
In Cordova, two people were injured after they were stabbed from behind by a man believed to be drunk and high on drugs.
The victims were identified as Virleigh Degamo, 25, and Ariel Pacaldo, 27, both of Sitio Kalan in Barangay Poblacion of the said town. The suspect, Francis Babatuan, 18, of San Miguel, Cordova, was immediately arrested.
Police Officer 2 Vilma Degamo, desk officer of Cordova Police Station, said the victims were just walking inside the public cemetery when the suspect stabbed them without any provocation.
“Sabog ug naka-inom nagsagol, na-trippan ang duha,” Degamo said.
Senior Superintendent Rey Lyndon Lawas, chief directorial staff of Police Regional Police Office-7, said he will ask the chief of police in Cordova to explain why a bladed weapon was allowed inside the cemetery.
Lawas was thankful that except for the said stabbing incident in Cordova there were no other crime incidents reported in the entire region.
He also shared Gillamac’s observation that fewer people visited the cemeteries this year. According to him, some people have also visited the cemetery ahead of the All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day.
“We observed nga daghan ang sayo niuli ana pa lang Friday to pay homage sa mga minahal sa kinabuhi knowing that Monday is not a holiday,” said Lawas.
Lawas has directed all the provincial and city directors to continue to monitor the terminals until today because of the expected unusual volume of passengers.
“That’s why we directed the police directors to give attention especially in the bus terminals nga ipadayon ang pag-deploy sa mga police ngadto sa terminals,” said Lawas.
He said that part of the directive was to detail policemen along the highways and provide assistance to the motorists as well as monitor public transportation to prevent overloading.
“To avoid vehicular accident along the highway sa katong mga niuli sa probinsya nagpakatap ta’g policemen on the streets pag-remind sad sa dili pagdali-dali og uli. Sa South Bus Terminal until sa (November) four naa tay duty personnel,” Gillamac said.
Traffic jam
Traffic congestions, however, was a major concern for motorists. Monstrous traffic jams were reported in Minglanilla, San Fernando, and Carcar City.
Chief Inspector Franco Rudolf Oriol, acting Minglanilla police chief, admitted that they have experienced a three-hour traffic jam in Barangay Poblacion last Sunday evening.
The traffic congestion was worsened by a minor traffic accident along the highway.
The Cebu South Mini Bus Operators Association and Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association reported zero accidents during the two-day observance.
Julieto Flores, president of CSMBOA, said they are happy to note that their members registered zero accidents.
“Nalipay mi nga wa gyuy aksidente nga nahitabo kay mao gyud na ang among gipaninguha nga peaceful og hapsay ang selebrasyon sa adlaw sa mga santos ug minatay,” said Flores.
Flores said they are still expecting more passengers coming from their respective towns by tomorrow and even until Wednesday.
Philippine Coast Guard Central Visayas district commander Enrico Efren Evangelista also reported no maritime accidents.
“Weather and sea condition was favorable for sea travel. There was no untoward or maritime incident reported,” Evangelista said.
Coast Guard Rescue personnel and vessels, however, will still be on standby ready to respond to any maritime incident.
“Coast Guard in Central Visayas remains on heightened alert even (if) there’s a slight decrease of maritime activities within the region,” Evangelista said.
He said that from 6 a.m. until 12 noon yesterday, a total of 63 vessels, 47 motor bancas, and 45 roll-on/roll-off vessels were inspected.
Evangelista said they have registered 9,277 outbound passengers and 8,647 inbound passengers for the same period.
“We expect the volume of maritime traffic to normalize in the coming days,” Evangelista added. - Bryner L. Diaz, Ma. Fatima R. Secuya, Christell Fatima M. Tudtud, Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, and Gabriel C. Bonjoc/FPL