City readies for Oplan Kaluluwa 2023

Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong recently issued Executive Order No. 131, series of 2023 reconstituting the executive committee for ‘Oplan Kaluluwa’ 2023 which is an annual activity of the city government and the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) to ensure safety, security and crowd management during the observance of All Souls Day and All Saints Day.

The mayor serves as the chairperson of the committee while City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña is the action officer with the following members: Baguio City Police Office, City Treasurer’s Office, City Engineering Office, City Health Services Office, City Environment and Parks Management Office, the General Services Office and barangay representatives from Loakan Proper, Kias, Fort Del Pilar, Bakakeng Norte/Sur and Irisan.

Also, members of the committee are the following divisions of the City Mayor’s Office: Permits and Licensing Office, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Public Order and Safety Division, and the Public Information Office.

The committee is set to meet next week to prepare policies, guidelines and measures for the successful and peaceful observance of undas.

In the past three years of the coronavirus pandemic, the committee implemented an early and scheduled cleaning of tombs per district to ensure adherence to minimum public health standards as well as avoid crowding and properly manage traffic of vehicles.

The committee is yet to agree on protocols to be implemented this year particularly considering crowd and traffic management.

The committee has been implementing a no parking rule along public thoroughfares near cemeteries during visiting days from the last weeks of October to the first week of November to avoid congestion.

Other safety measures being implemented is the prohibition of liquor, firearms and pointed objects, flammable materials, gambling materials and loud speakers.

Vending and vendors are also prohibited inside public cemeteries during said period.

There are more than ten public and private cemeteries in Baguio that will require crowd and traffic management by the BCPO, POSD, the barangay and volunteers to ensure a safe and peaceful observance of the All Saints’ Day. – JMPS