Ilonggos celebrate All Saints Day peacefully
Ilonggos celebrated yesterday's All Saints Day generally peaceful even as cops continue to be on guard today, All Souls Day. The police trooped to the different cemeteries in the city as early as 7:00 a.m. It was learned that each police station in the city's six districts came up with their own preparations.
Though, the actual day of remembering the dead is November 2 people have already followed a tradition to visit the cemetery on November 1st. Others would visit even days before to avoid congestion in the cemeteries.
Yesterday, masses for the dead were also held in the different cemeteries. Individual 'responso' for the dead is stricken from the usual practice of the Catholic church. Instead a common mass is held for the repose of all souls particularly those believed to be in purgatory.
Police assistance centers are set-up in every cemetery entrance to cater to the needs of the public. The cops also checked the belongings of the people who visited the cemetery. All pointed items, bladed weapons, liquor and firearms are banned inside the cemetery. A no gambling policy is also imposed.
As of press time, no untoward incident was recorded in the different police precincts in the city. However, heavy traffic flow was experienced in all roads leading to both public and private cemeteries particularly in Jaro area.
Aside from uniformed police personnel, non-uniformed police personnel were also deployed in the cemeteries. Traffic aides and barangay tanods were there too to help ease traffic flow.
In Molo district, people visited their dead since Sunday. Among the prominent persons laid in Molo cemetery are Senator Rodolfo Ganzon and Hon. Jose Ma. Arroyo Ray Pidal, the grandfather of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Molo cemetery’s nearby barangay, Barangay Poblacion also held a Halloween party for their kids Monday night. Little kids wore scary costumes and brought a pumpkin pail to collect candies from the stores. They were assisted by their parents. Beating of the drums while on the streets added fun to the activity.