SINCE he was a child, Philippine Army Ser-geant Jonathan Bautista has never failed to visit the grave of his dear grandfather at the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Dagupan City on All Saints’ Day.

On Thursday, as in previous years, the young military officer took time out to honor his       grandfather, US Army PFC Marcelo Bautista who was killed in action in Tayabas (now Quezon) in 1944 at the height of the Second World War.

Taking time out from his regular duty as a soldier, Bautista joined countless other Filipinos around the country who lit candles, laid flowers and whispered prayers for their departed loved ones.

The observance of All Saints’ Day this year was generally peaceful and orderly throughout the province of Pangasinan, according to a report from the Philippine National Police.

On order of Sr. Supt. Isagani Nerez, provincial police director, uniformed policemen were deployed in the various cemeteries to safeguard people visiting the tombs of their loved ones.

One shooting incident was reported in front of the public cemetery in Urbiztondo on the evening of October 31, but no one was hurt.

The incident happened around 8:25 p.m. in front of a store, located across the cemetery, owned by a certain Manny de Vera, 35, resident of said place, and temporarily rented by one Juicy Samson.

Samson was fired at by still unidentified persons but was missed and instead hit bottles of beverage which were on sale.

The suspects fled and motive remains unknown.

CANTORES

Meanwhile, the Pangasinan tradition of old women singing for the dead, locally known as cantores, remains alive in San Carlos City.

The women’s group gets a minimum of P50 each per 30 minutes of singing for the dead.

Relatives of the dead hire them as a way of saying their prayers in front of the graveyard of the departed.

In Dagupan City, members of the Dagupan City police, Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) and the Philippine Army based at Camp Tito Abat in Manaoag were most visible in the different cemeteries in the city.

P/Supt. Dionicio Borromeo, chief of the Dagupan City police, visited the cemeteries to ensure the peace and order while POSO men directed traffic.

Also noted were members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) who were on alert with their fire trucks, city health officials, and members of the Philippine National Red Cross.—CSR

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