By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
All cemeteries in Negros Occidental will be closed from October 30 to November 2, 2020, provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, confirmed yesterday.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is expected to release an executive order suspending all activities related to the observance of “Undas” or the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
This came after Lacson met with the mayors of the cities of Sagay, San Carlos, Victorias, Sipalay, Silay and the town mayors of Hinigaran, Moises Padilla, Binalbagan, Valladolid, Candoni, Pulupandan, EB Magalona, and Pontevedra.
The mayors have all agreed to introduce their own executive orders also suspending the observance of Undas due to concerns over the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The agreement was also reached after Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año made recommendation to all local government units in the country to close their respective cemeteries and columbaries in order to curb the spread of the virus.
It has been a tradition for the Filipino people to visit the final resting place of their loved ones during the yearly observance of Undas./DGB, WDJ