ANGELES CITY – No public observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in this city as all its cemeteries, both public and private, will be closed from October 30 until November 3 to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease.
“While the city government respects the Filipino tradition of remembering our departed loved ones, the mass gathering of people in these particular days poses danger and may spread disease due to lack of social distancing,” said Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. in Executive Order No. 19 dated Sept. 8.
Lazatin said he understands that the order is a prohibition of the traditional observance of All Saint’s Day (Nov. 1) and All Soul’s Day (Nov. 2) whereby the public pays respect to their dearly departed by sprucing up their tombs, light candles, and pray for the repose of their souls.
He appealed to his constituents that instead occemetery visits, they could just light candles and pray of their departed loved ones in their respective homes on the days dedicated to the dead.
This, even as the mayor also encouraged Angeleños to consider alternative dates to visit the cemetery and honor their departed loved ones outside of the days the cemeteries are closed.
Lazatin reiterated that this is one of the efforts of the city government to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, as the city faces a surge in the number of confirmed cases.
