‘Undas’ 2018 generally peaceful, orderly — PNP

The observance of All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) was generally peaceful and orderly even as an estimated 14.6 million Filipinos trooped to 4,677 cemeteries and memorial parks and 76 columbaria across the country, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Guillermo Eleazar attributed the huge turnout to good weather.

“Samgasementeryosa Metro Manila, makikita na dagsa ang mga tao dahil hindi umulan, maganda ang panahon (In the cemeteries, we saw people coming in droves because it did not rain and the weather was good),” Eleazar said Thursday night.

Eleazar also noted that there were lesser prohibited items confiscated compared to the millions who entered the cemetery.

However, more packs of cigarettes were seized because of the smoking ban, he said.

Eleazar also said that the police will remain under full alert status until this weekend.

Despite no known threats, he reminded the public to remain vigilant at all times.

Shortly before Friday noon, Chief Superintendent BenignoDurana Jr., PNP spokesperson, said no major untoward incident was recorded except for a few arrests that were made due to illegal drugs.

“The observance of All Saints’ [Day] and All Souls’ [Day] has been generally peaceful and orderly thanks to the support of all stakeholders, including the public, that’s why we have achieved this commendable observance,” Durana said.

In Metro Manila, about 2.2 million Filipinos visited their dearly departed, according to a collated data from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

The peak reached around 6 p.m. on November 1, with over 2,285,000 individuals monitored to have visited cemeteries in the metro.

NCRPO Director Guillermo Eleazar said majority of the visitors were recorded at the Manila North Cemetery with 1.37 million cemetery-goers on Thursday. This was lower compared to the two million visitors recorded in 2017.

For his part, Durana said among the problems experienced by police on the ground were traffic and disorder.

“That’s why we’ve fielded 32,092 police officers supported by 86,000 force multipliers to ensure peace and order and public safety during the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day,” he said.

‘Fluke’

Meanwhile, Durana called the police officer caught allegedly sniffing cocaine in an upscale club in BGC, Taguig City on the eve of All Saints’ Day as a “fluke” in the police organization.

Police Officer 1 Redentor Bautista, 34, was arrested by Taguig City Police around 11:45 p.m. of October 31. Reports said a call was received by Taguig Police Community Precinct (PCP)-7 from a bouncer saying Bautista was caught sniffing cocaine at the comfort room of the club.

It was later discovered that the suspect was a cop assigned to Manila Police District (MPD) Station 1.

“While we can be tough on crimes, we can be tougher against our erring personnel. This one is a fluke, it’s an outlier. He doesn’t represent the entire service personnel who are professional, honest and dedicated,” Durana said.

“Criminal and administrative cases are already being filed against him by the regional director of the NCRPO, Director [Guillermo] Eleazar,” he added.

The PNP spokesman said part of the on-going investigation is to determine where PO1 Bautista got the cocaine and how deep is his involvement in the illegal drug trade.

“That would be exploited by our investigators. At this point, we cannot divulge the outcome of the investigation but definitely, we would get into the bottom of his involvement in the drug trade in our country,” Durana noted.

Bautista was brought to Taguig City Police where he will be charged for use and possession of dangerous drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

SOURCE: MANILA BULLETIN

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