‘Circle’ offers resting place for missing dead

MANILA, Philippines — Relatives who can no longer locate or visit their dead have a place to remember them at the Manila North Cemetery.

Under the bright afternoon sun and the hot and humid weather of All Saints’ Day, some families who visited the 54-hectare burial park offered flowers and lit candles at the so-called “circle,” located a few meters from the entrance.

The flowers and molten candles were placed near the statue of Jesus and a recreation of the “Pieta.”

Cherry Chan, in her late 40s who came from Quezon City, offered a candle at the Pieta statue for her father, who was previously buried in the Manila North Cemetery in 2001 but could no longer be found.

Her family was surprised to find another dead buried at the tomb where her father was supposedly buried, just four years after his death, she recalled.

As far as she could remember, her father’s tomb was found along 14th Avenue where the late movie actor and National Artist for Film Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife Susan Roces were buried.

By lighting a candle at the circle, she also offered a prayer for her father, said Chan.

“This is the only time I’ve visited the cemetery again. I don’t know, perhaps he is reminding me to visit him, that’s why we are here,” she said.

The family of Estrella de Lima from Sta. Mesa, Manila also lit candles for their dead at the circle just after they visited the graves at the cemetery.

The candles were for their relatives in Mindanao, particularly her grandparents and an uncle that they could no longer visit, she said.

Around the circle, one can also find tombstones of humans, as well as pets whose names and breeds were indicated.

The circle was transformed into a mass grave when the current administration of the Manila North Cemetery took over in 2019, said cemetery staff Obet Ocampo.

Unclaimed remains, as well as those taken out of their apartment-type and solo tombs after surpassing the five-year lease period, were buried in underground vaults made in the circle, he explained.

Some visitors had to be attended by medical personnel from the Manila city government after their blood pressure shot up, while others fainted amid the heat and the crowding in the walkways along Main Avenue.

The huge crowds also enabled some enterprising minds to come up with gimmicks to attract visitors, with some people seen wearing costumes of cartoon and movie characters like Pennywise, a spooky image of Cocomelon with fangs and a scythe and Mickey Mouse, offering photo opportunities near the entrance and the exit.

Aspirants for the May 2025 elections, particularly those running to become district representatives and city councilors, also offered various services like medical check-ups and free jeepney rides at areas surrounding the Manila North Cemetery.

The city government of Manila also arranged free e-trike rides for visitors, particularly benefiting those with limited mobility.

These e-trikes are shuttling attendees in and out of the cemetery grounds. Special provisions have also been made for senior citizens, offering wheelchairs for easier access and enhanced comfort.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, a total of 1,015,000 people visited the Manila North Cemetery, according to the Manila Police District.

It also recorded 20,200 visitors at the La Loma Catholic cemetery as of 1 p.m., 76,300 at the Manila South Cemetery and 6,050 at the Chinese Cemetery as of 3 p.m.

Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City is expected to welcome approximately one million visitors. To facilitate visitors, the park will remain open 24 hours until today.

Earlier reports indicated that President Marcos sent flowers to the grave of former senator Ninoy Aquino and his wife, former president Cory Aquino, which is located in the said memorial park.

Grieving amidst floods

Devout Filipinos clutching candles and flowers poured into cemeteries across the heavily Catholic Philippines yesterday to pay tribute to loved ones on All Saints’ Day.

Hundreds of thousands flocked to sprawling graveyards in the capital Manila while others waded through floodwaters left by a deadly tropical storm to quietly pray and celebrate the lives of departed relatives.

At Manila North Cemetery, 64-year-old Virginia Flores lit candles in front of her grandmother’s “apartment,” the local term for tombs packed tightly together and stacked meters high.

“This is my way of remembering her life and our shared memories when she was alive, so I visit her every year,” Flores told AFP.

Erlinda Sese, 52, was joined by her sister and grandchildren to offer prayers for their deceased loved ones.

“Even if they are gone, today is a reminder that our love for them will never fade,” Sese said as she gently laid a bouquet of white flowers on a tombstone.

In Pampanga, a low-lying province 80 kilometers north of the capital, AFP reporters on Thursday saw people trudge through murky floodwaters to visit the submerged Masantol municipal cemetery.

The visitors were making the pilgrimage barely a week after Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) unleashed landslides and flooding that killed at least 150 people in the province and left more than a dozen missing.

“Visiting dead loved ones is very important to Filipinos. This has been our tradition and culture,” 34-year-old Mark Yamat told AFP. “Even though the cemetery is submerged here, we will continue to visit.”

Maria Cayanan, 52, was supposed to light candles in front of her parents’ tombstone in Pampanga, but the floodwaters prevented her from reaching their burial plots.

“We will just light the candles at home,” Cayanan told AFP. “We have to visit their graves, so they know they are not forgotten.”

Undas peaceful

There was no untoward incident that marred the observance of All Saints’ Day, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

“Relatively peaceful as no untoward incident was recorded,” PNP public information officer Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo told reporters in a message on Viber.

Fajardo said at least 40,115 PNP personnel were deployed nationwide to ensure public safety for the rest of Undas.

To ensure the safety of the public, the PNP will maintain its heightened presence two days after the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Fajardo said they will maintain their security deployment until Monday, Nov. 4 when they expect travelers will return from the provinces after the Undas break.