With the yearly “Simbang Gabi” (dawn masses) set to start on Friday, Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. ordered full alert status starting on Dec. 16 to ensure the safety of people and churchgoers.
“Full alert will start on Friday, coinciding with the opening of Simbang Gabi. I have directed our policemen to be visible in churches for the Simbang Gabi. They should be visible so that if a police response is needed by our countrymen, they are ready…They should be ready, on call, anytime,” Azurin told reporters at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame.
Azurin said he has already instructed police units to beef up their presence in areas where people frequent, including malls. Azurin said policemen are allowed to go on Christmas break but said they should be on call to report anytime if their services are needed.
The head of the National Capital Region Police District Office (NCRPO) has ordered its five district directors to tighten security around churches and residential areas to ensure public safety during the Yuletide season.
The traditional nine-day dawn masses will start on Dec. 16 and end on Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve).
NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, has directed the police force to enforce maximum police visibility around the churches in Metro Manila with the expected influx of people going to churches to attend the “Simbang Gabi” or “Misa de Gallo”.
Police Assistance Desks (PADs) were also established near the church entrances to immediately attend to any emergency or untoward incident.
Estomo reminded metro cops to maximize their presence in the field to prevent crime and terrorism, and to continue to collaborate and open their communication for better coordination.
PNP spokeswoman, Col. Jean Fajardo, said police visibility will be increased in churches, malls and restaurants where people may go after attending the dawn mass.
Amid the easing up of restrictions, the Archdiocese of Pampanga meanwhile urged the faithful to attend the “Simbang Gabi” (dawn masses).
In a circular, San Fernando Archbishop Florentino Lavarias called on parishioners to physically attend the nine-day annual pre-Christmas event.
He noted that such Eucharistic celebrations are best celebrated inside churches.
“Simbang Bengi (Gabi) Masses are best celebrated in parish churches, shrines, chapels, and not in malls, hotels, offices, resorts, radio and TV stations, and private homes,” the archbishop said.
“Let us strongly encourage our parishioners to a real and actual celebration of the Simbang Bengi Masses and all other Masses subsequently in our chapels and churches, and no longer through virtual and on-line watching,” he added.
Lavarias noted that although the broadcast and live-streaming of Masses provide “valued service to the sick and those who are unable to go to church”, personal participation in Masses is still a different experience.
He added that virtual Masses also “risk distancing us from a personal and intimate encounter with the incarnate God.”
Last March 2020, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a circular dispensing the faithful from the Sunday and the Holy Days of Obligation, while pushing for the provision of the celebration of the Eucharist through virtual means, due to the pandemic.