Talavera Mayor Nerivi Santos Martinez shows her harvest as she went to her her vegetabe garden instead of cemetery on Undas. FB photograb
CABANATUAN CITY – In lieu of visiting departed loved ones in cemeteries, Mayor Nerivi Santos Martinez went to her garden and harvested some vegetables on Monday, Nov. 1.
Mayor Emerson Pascual of Gapan City went on a live video from the city public cemetery to show that the government has cleaned up the place.
Mayor Myca Vergara of this city encouraged her constituents to ponder on memories of their loved ones.
These were some ways through which some local officials reached their respective constituents via social media amid the closure of all the 136 private and public cemeteries and columbaria in Nueva Ecija from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.
Nueva Ecija police director Col. Rhoderick Campo said at least 1,152 policemen were deployed to keep order in cemeteries and other strategic places.
“Ngayon po ay Undas at dahil hindi tayo makapunta sa sementeryo kaya nag-isip po tayo ng mga bagay na pupuwede nating gawin ngayong araw,” said Martinez as she called on the public to pray for the souls of their departed loved ones.
She also reported the decrease in active coronavirus cases in the municipality, from the highest of over 200, to 55 on Sunday.
“Yung ating vaccination ay tuloy-tuloy na ginagawa,” Martinez said saying it could be a reason for the decline in active COVID 19 cases.
She then harvested 10 kinds of vegetables from her garden, including corn, string beans, bitter gourd, eggplants, water melon, okra, upo or bottle gourd, among others.
Talavera, which has harvested a number of awards for nutrition from the national government, has been declared as the “Gulayan Capital of Nueva Ecija” by virtue of a sangguniang panlalawigan resolution.
“Malungkot man isipin na wala na sila, inaanyayahan ko kayong balikan ang saya at pagmamahal na nakuha natin sa kanila noong sila ay kasama pa natin,” Vergara said in a message. “Lahat ng pangyayari ay may kadahilanan, at daan ito para tayo’y matuto at maging mas maingat sa ating mga sariling buhay.”
As of Oct. 30, 98,872 individuals or 42 percent of the target 235,926 individuals set by the Department of Health have been vaccinated in Cabanatuan City. Of the figure, 71,274 or 30 percent were fully vaccinated, according to the city government.
Pascual, on the other hand, gave the public a tour on the cemetery that was built in 1937 to show that tombs were clean even as the people are barred from entering it on Undas.
“Tama naman yung IATF (inter-agency task force) na kung io-open natin ay magkakagulo ang tao baka magkaroon na naman ng COVID,” he said.
