First aid booths, information desks and wheelchairs for the elderly and disabled.
There are just some of the services that will be available to Manila residents who make their way to the city’s cemeteries on November 1 and 2.
In a meeting, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered city officials to ensure the safety and comfort of cemetery goers by setting up information desks to provide assistance to those with complaints.
He also directed officials of the Manila Health Department and public hospitals to deploy ambulances and medical personnel at the cemeteries for emergency cases.
On the other hand, the Manila Police District was ordered to assign some of its men at the Manila North Cemetery, the biggest burial ground in Metro Manila.
Lim’s chief of staff Ricardo de Guzman said that checkpoints would be set up at the gates of cemeteries to make sure that no one would be able to bring in prohibited items such as bladed weapons, alcohol, gambling paraphernalia, a sound system and animals.
De Guzman added that no vehicles would be allowed inside the cemeteries starting October 31. “We have to make way for people to pass through,” he explained.
To ensure smooth traffic flow, the MPD Traffic Enforcement Unit has released a rerouting scheme which will be in effect from October 31 to November 1.
Roads that will be closed include the stretch of Aurora Boulevard from the corner of Dimasalang to the corner of Rizal Avenue, Blumentritt from A. Bonifacio to P. Guevarra, Dimasalang from Makiling to Blumentritt, Retiro from Dimasalang to Blumentritt Extension, P. Guevarra from Cavite to Pampanga, and Leonor Rivera from Cavite to Aurora Boulevard.
All vehicles coming from Quezon City or Caloocan bound for the North Harbor should take Jose Abad Santos Street or Radial Road.
All vehicles coming from the north or Quezon City that are headed for South Pier or Ermita should take D. Tuazon or Mayon Street toward España or Quiapo.
All vehicles going to the city cemeteries, both from the north or the south, can pass through Rizal Avenue.
Private vehicles can park on all streets, except the roads closed to traffic and the designated tow-away zones like Retiro, Laon-Laan, Pampanga Street, Rizal Avenue, Jose Abad Santos and Aurora Boulevard.
Meanwhile, Skyway O&M Corp. (Somco) has placed its personnel on alert from October 28 to November 1 in anticipation of an increase in the volume of traffic on the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) as people head for the provinces during the four-day break.
At least 150 Skyway patrol personnel will be deployed to the expressway while a command post will operate round-the-clock to assist motorists, according to Somco’s vice president for operations and spokesman Ed Nepomuceno.
Nepomuceno said that the bulk of motorists was expected to converge at the Sucat exit because the area houses two of the biggest cemeteries in the southern part of Metro Manila, Manila Memorial Park and Loyola Memorial Park.