Easter Sunday Frolickers, Beachgoers to Face Arrest

As Cebu joins the nation in celebrating Easter Sunday, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia orders the deployment of police in beaches and to arrest beachgoers.

“Tidlum nalang mo didto sa (dagat), ayaw namo’g haw-as. Kay kon mohaw-as mo, ipadakop ta gyud mo,” Garcia said on Saturday in a press conference.

The warning came as most Filipinos spend Easter or the Day of the Resurrection of Christ or end of Lent frolicking at the beach.

Garcia issued a memorandum to Provincial Police Chief Roderick Mariano enjoining all police chiefs in the province to arrest violators.

While jails may be experiencing congestion, she said she has prepared a cell for hard-headed Cebuanos at the Cebu Provincial Drug Rehabilitation Center.

She said the stay at the detention facility offers an orange uniform and new pair of shoes and dance lessons for Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea.”

Violators will be fined P5,000 or face one year imprisonment.

She signed Executive Order 5-L-1 on Saturday prohibiting the use of beaches or the gathering of people in beaches or resorts or “other bodies of water” on Sunday in light of the continuing increase of Covid-19 patients in Cebu.

“It is imperative that a prohibition on persons swimming in beaches and other bodies of water, including the gathering persons therein, is implemented in order to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Cebu,” Garcia stated in her order.

As of April 11, 2020, there are 36 confirmed cases of Covid-19, five cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections, 229 cases of Influenza Like Illnesses, and 34,658 persons under monitoring in Cebu province.
Aside from the police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will also assist in reinforcing the order. (SN)