VICE Mayor Joy Belmonte, as acting mayor of Quezon City, on Tuesday ordered department heads, QC Police District Director Guillermo Eleazar, and Red Cross representatives to work together to ensure a peaceful and safe observance of All Saints and All Souls Days.
Mayor Herbert Bautista is in New York, attending the 12th Global Forum on Human Settlements and Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards Ceremony.
Before his trip, Bautista left Belmonte in charge, as he led the delegation first attending the Partnership for Healthy Cities in Paris, France before they all head to New York.
Quezon City’s Operation Undas included the preparations for traffic re-routing, assistance in various transportation terminals, enforcement of strict security measures inside private and public cemeteries and emergency assistance, Belmonte said.
Eleazar has organized Task Force Undas consisting of three components — Alpha for anti-criminality, Bravo for security deployment in cemeteries and columbarium, and Charlie for security deployment in bus terminals, train systems and vital installations.
The acting mayor has also instructed the barangays to aid anyone needing assistance.
Ramon Matabang, the city’s civil registrar, said the Bagbag, Novaliches Bayan and Baesa public cemeteries will also be monitored. A public-address system in these cemeteries has been put up to ensure public safety and security, aid in proper coordination and information to the public.
Volunteers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Red Cross, and other civic organizations have also been mobilized.
The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, headed by Karl Michael Marasigan, guaranteed efficient and effective emergency management procedures, specifically the responsiveness of “Hotline ng Bayan” 122 as the focal contact number to coordinate emergency response of stand by ambulances, fire trucks and medical teams prepositioned in different areas.