BY JEL SANTOS
Private and public cemeteries in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be closed for a week to ensure that people will not flock to graveyards during the Undas holiday.
This was the decision agreed by Metro Manila Council (MMC), which is composed of 17 mayors in the metropolis, during their virtual meeting Sunday night.
MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo “Jojo” Garcia said the mayors have agreed for the one-week closure of cemeteries under their respective jurisdictions.
“The mayors unanimously agreed to close cemeteries, public and private, in their respective areas. The dates, meanwhile, will be up to the IATF ( Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) to decide,” he said during a Zoom press conference on Monday morning.
“Our reason for the one week closure is for people not to flock to cemeteries,” he added.
Garcia said visits can be scheduled so that the cemeteries will not reach their maximum capacity, just like the system of Marikina City.
“Marikina City has a very beautiful system of giving cemetery passes and schedules for the visit to cemeteries. They only allow a maximum of 30 percent capacity of a cemetery per day to ensure that social distancing will still be followed,” he noted.
Other local governments, he said, may imitate the system of Marikina or reconfigure it based on their areas needs.
Earlier, Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro announced that cemetery administrations in Marikina City will issue cemetery passes to regulate the number of people who can visit, saying they are implementing scheduled visits for the safety of the public.
Meantime, Garcia urged people who cannot visit their departed loved ones to pray in churches and at home .
“If you are unable to visit their graves this year, light a candle and pray for them at home or in church,” Garcia said. (Jel Santos)
