ILOILO City – The traditional observance of All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2) is not an excuse to smoke or litter in cemeteries, according to the city government’s Oplan Kalag-Kalag Task Force.
Violators of the city’s ordinances against littering and smoking in public places and conveyances would be apprehended, said Donna Magno, task force chief.
The Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Task Force and City Environment and Natural Resources Office are deploying personnel to cemeteries.
“We will strictly implement the ordinances. We will apprehend violators,” said Magno.
On Oct. 31, no less than Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR) Region 6 executive director Francisco Milla Jr. made an appeal to the public not to turn graveyards into dumps.
Milla asked local government units to observe the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or Republic Act 9003 by installing properly-labeled garbage bins to encourage cemetery visitors to segregate their trash.
“They must see to it that their constituents adhere to sanitation rules,” Milla said.
Under the law, a person caught littering could be fined from P300 to P1,000, or render community service.
Bringing of liquor and deadly weapons is banned from cemeteries, too.
Gambling is also prohibited.
In coordination with other government agencies, the city government is mobilizing over 800 personnel to keep the city peaceful and orderly, and specifically the cemeteries.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office’s (CDRRMO) emergency operation center at the city government’s motorpool on Delgado Street is on blue alert.
“We have personnel manning it, 24 hours ang duty,” said Magno, also the CDRRMO chief.
The CDRRMO organized three committees to have all bases covered – safety, security and emergency preparedness.
In the safety committee, the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) is taking the lead. With City Engineer’s Office and CENRO, PSTMO is also in charge of traffic management and cleanliness of the cemeteries.
The security committee, meanwhile, is headed by the Iloilo City Police Office. Also under it are force multipliers like barangay tanods.
For emergency preparedness, the CDRRMO will be augmented by the City Health Office and Bureau of Fire Protection.
“We will deploy doctors and first aid responders in three major cemeteries in the districts of La Paz, Mandurriao and Jaro. There will be roving ambulance units, too,” said Magno./PN
