SECURING UNDAS. Police officials visit the San Nicolas Cemetery in Barangay Calamba in Cebu City on Tuesday (Oct. 31, 2023). The Philippine National Police in Central Visayas are now shifting gears from securing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections to securing cemeteries during Undas or All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days on Nov. 1 and 2. (Contributed photo)
CEBU CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel who secured polling places in Central Visayas during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) are readying themselves to secure the Undas 2023, a police official said on Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7), said their regional director, Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, has specific instructions for their personnel in the field to prepare for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
Some local stations have already deployed in the cemeteries in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, but those who were deployed for election duties even before Monday’s BSKE would catch up on Tuesday, on the All Saints’ eve.
“We are just shifting gears. We have never stopped because our security forces are preparing for the Undas 2023. We have heard from grounds that our security forces are just taking a nap to get ready to proceed to the cemeteries,” Pelare told reporters attending the media briefing.
He expressed elation that there were no untoward incidents occurred during the elections, although they recorded minor concerns which were addressed right away by their personnel in the field.
“To us, it was a very good development as we also noticed that the people in Central Visayas abhor violence and intimidation. Although we noticed minor security issues, but no occurrence that destroyed the overall conduct of the election,” he said, citing the BSKE in the region as “generally peaceful.”
Joint Task Group Cebu commander, Col. Erwin Rommel Lamzon said Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel who augmented the personnel from PNP, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology have gone back to the barracks as of the moment.
Lamzon, however, said the soldiers are ready to augment police in securing cemeteries.
“We continue to provide support to the PNP and other (s in the) security sector. But we are re-posturing our forces after the election. They are ordered back to barracks in the meantime but they are on call for any contingencies as the PNP may require during the Undas,” he said.
Aberin, along with station commanders, conducted on Tuesday an ocular inspection of public and private cemeteries in Cebu to ensure that families visiting their loved ones are safe and secure.
Among the cemeteries Aberin visited was the San Nicolas Catholic Cemetery, one of the oldest sites where residents of various villages in Cebu City are buried. (PNA)
