FLOWERS FOR SALE. The prices of flowers being sold in Dumaguete City for the observance of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on Wednesday and Thursday respectively (Nov. 1 and 2) have gone up. Thousands of troops will be securing the cemeteries and other places of convergence to deter violence and ensure public safety. (PNA file photo by Mary Judaline Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Almost 3,000 security forces in Negros Oriental will be utilized for the twin observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day this week, a police official said on Tuesday.
“These are the same troops that were deployed for the Oct. 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in Negros Oriental and the local government units where they are assigned during the polls will determine their “Undas” assignments,” said Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO).
Polinar, also the NOPPO’s deputy chief of the Police Community Affairs and Development Unit (PCADU) told the Philippine News Agency that these security forces will return to their mother units outside of Negros Oriental on Friday.
These augmentation forces are from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army, Coast Guard, and Bureau of Fire Protection, who served on election day.
They will be securing the cemeteries where people are expected to flock to visit and pay their respects to their departed loved ones, he said.
The law enforcers will also be deployed to man checkpoints, places of convergence such as churches, sea ports, the airport, and bus terminals, and even assist in the smooth flow of traffic, he added.
Polinar said the utilization of these additional security forces is aligned with the province still being under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the BSKE as the election period is still on until the end of November.
The Comelec gun ban is still in effect while local ordinances will also be implemented such as the prohibition of bringing alcoholic beverages to the cemeteries for overnight gatherings, among others. (PNA)
