INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MABALACAT CITY — The Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) took advantage of Undas or All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day to arrest 20 people in different parts of Central Luzon who have pending criminal charges in courts.
In a statement on Friday, PRO3 director Brigadier General Jose Hidalgo Jr. said families get reunited during Undas to remember their dead.
“While our primary focus was to ensure the security and safety of the public in cemeteries, along the roads and places of convergence, we also seized the opportunity to track down wanted individuals who returned home or visited the graves of their departed loved ones,” he said.
Hidalgo said the arrested people were being sought by the law for various crimes ranging from robbery to rape, murder, and illegal drug trade.
He said two of the 20 arrested fugitives were classified as “most wanted persons” regionwide.
Hidalgo said the police were able to confiscate 32 bladed weapons, six videoke or karaoke systems, and several bottles of alcoholic drinks and playing cards in cemeteries.
Some 4,000 police officers were deployed to cemeteries and along major road networks during this period.
The lawmen were supported by village peacekeepers and force multipliers belonging to anti-crime and similar groups.
Hidalgo said the policemen were ordered to remain in their respective posts “until the last visitor leaves the premises of the cemetery” on Undas. INQ
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