Mysterious lights hovering over tombs at Clark cemetery?

CLARK FREEPORT, Pam­panga, Philippines – Because the well-manicured Clark cemetery never really had a traditional “sepulturero (grave­digger),” no one has really compiled ghost stories from this place.

There have been reports though of supposed “orbs” hovering over some tombs, particularly of those who died way back in the 19th century. 

These mysterious lights, believed to be manifestations of the dead, are said to appear in parts of the 20,365-acre cemetery particularly on All Saints’ Day.

On this day, most of the 20,000 tombs are unvisited and unlighted even as other cemeteries elsewhere brighten up with votive candles as relatives gather to remember their departed.

Despite this, former US Navy officer Dennis Wright, president and chief executive officer of Peregrine, an international management company here, has some good news.

This November, the stolen steel fence of the cemetery will be replaced by a “stately” concrete wall with columns that could make the otherwise drab place interesting to tourists.

The project will be funded by Wright’s firm and its associates in the Global Gateway Logistics City project in this freeport. 

Wright told The STAR that US war veterans and prominent Filipinos have formed the Clark Veterans Cemetery Restoration Association now registered in Oklahoma to “create awareness” and lobby for US federal funding for the cemetery.

He said information on the non-profit association could be accessed in the association’s website www.cvcra.org. 

Members of the US Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2485 based in nearby Angeles City have deplored the “neglect” of the US government in preserving the cemetery since the US Air Force left its base here in 1991. 

At present, the VFW maintains the cemetery through donations from its members. 

The VFW wants the US to negotiate with the Philippine government so the cemetery could be administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, a federal agency, or the National Cemetery Administration, a branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs.