By Leilanie G. Adriano (Staff Reporter)
LAOAG CITY–Following
the guidelines issued by the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of
Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) on the observance of “undas”, a
Filipino tradition of remembering the dead by going to the cemeteries and
lighting up candles or offering prayers and flowers, Ilocos Norte Governor
Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc retracted his earlier pronouncement, saying they will
now close all public and private cemeteries in the province from Oct. 29 to Nov.
4, 2020.
In his latest
Executive Order No. 96-20 posted on the evening of Oct. 8, 2o20 in the official
social media page of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, the governor
said visiting hours for all public and private cemeteries, memorial parks and
columbaria will be pre-scheduled starting Sept. 17 until Nov. 14, 2020 to avoid
overcrowding.
Manned by joint
personnel from the Philippine National Police, provincial health office, the local
government unit and the barangay unit concerned, they will set up a triage in
designated entrance and exit points of memorial establishments for body
temperature screening and hand sanitation purposes. Based on COVID-19 health
protocols, they will limit the entry of visitors to 30 percent capacity of the cemetery.
There will also be no
selling of food, drinks, candles and flowers among others.
“While the provincial
government fully respects the tradition of Ilocanos in paying respect to our
departed loved ones, it is imperative to adopt the resolution in order to
mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and ensure strict observation of all applicable
health protocols,” Mr. Manotoc explained.
As of this posting, many
are now cleaning public and private cemeteries in the province in preparation
for the observance of the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day celebration.
Other local government
units here have also started posting visiting schedules in their respective
cemeteries for the information of the public.
Anyone found violating
the order will be penalized under existing laws and ordinances.
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