Duterte: ‘Honor the dead, emulate saints’

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte yesterday urged Filipinos to be advocates of peace and emulate the saints by helping those who are suffering.

In his message for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, Duterte said Filipinos have much to gain from the “virtuous example” of those who have gone before them in the grace of God.

“May their deeds inspire us to become advocates of peace and solidarity as we do our part in building our nation and in alleviating the suffering of others,” he said. “Together, let us emulate our saints, pray for the eternal repose of souls and deepen our engagement with our communities as we work for real and lasting change.”

Duterte called on Filipinos to honor their departed loved ones and wished them a solemn and meaningful observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

“We remember our saints and our dead whose lives have deeply inspired us to grow in faith, hope and love,” the President said.

“We are reminded that even in death, our bonds with them remain,” he added.

In his previous speeches, Duterte has made fun of the Catholic Church’s veneration of saints.

He once joked that St. Peter, an apostle of Jesus whose symbol in art is a rooster, loved cockfighting. He had also questioned why some people slaughter their cows and carabaos in honor of St. Isidore, the patron saint of farmers.

Duterte said Catholics have more than 5,000 saints to choose from, including “Santo Rodrigo.”

The President clashed with the Church over his war on drugs, which has left more than 4,000 drug suspects dead.

‘Undas generally peaceful’

In Manila, an estimated 1.4 million people flocked to four cemeteries in the city to visit their dead, according to police.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the Manila Police District (MPD) said 1,300,343 people visited the Manila North Cemetery; South Cemetery, 247,925; La Loma Cemetery, 80,200, and Chinese Cemetery, 1,000.

Police confiscated hundreds of bladed weapons, garden tools and flammable materials such as rubbing alcohol, according to Senior Insp. Ana Simbajon, chief of the MPD public information office.

The observance of Undas in Manila was generally peaceful. But due to the large crowd, usual problems such as lost children and relatives who failed to find the tombs of their dead arose.

Police also reported that a college student was arrested for sneaking weed into the Manila South Cemetery on Wednesday.

Neil Aldaba, of Eureka street, Barangay La Paz in Makati, allegedly yielded 19 sachets of dried marijuana leaves.

Aldaba is being held by police on drug charges.  – With Alexis Romero, Rey Galupo