2 Manila cemeteries to reopen for Undas week

MANILA, Philippines — Two cemeteries in Manila will reopen during the week of Undas, the Filipino tradition of visits to the dead, Mayor Honey Lacuna said yesterday.

The Manila North Cemetery and Manila South Cemetery – which is located in Makati City but managed by the Manila city government – will be open to the public from Oct. 29 to 31 as well as on Nov. 1 and 2, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, she said in her Facebook Live video on Friday.

Since 2020, cemeteries in the country were closed during Undas week to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The gates of these cemeteries will be open from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. only, Lacuna said.

She also said that children aged 12 and below, as well as people who have not completed their COVID-19 vaccine dosage, will not be allowed in the two cemeteries.

She also asserted that visitors are “encouraged” to wear face masks in cemeteries, which are considered open spaces, despite a Malacañang order lifting the mask mandate for open spaces.

“We cannot ensure that there would be physical distancing,” Lacuna said.

The two cemeteries will allow the repainting and cleaning of tombs until Oct. 25 while burials and cremations would be suspended from  Oct. 28 to Nov. 2.

However, Lacuna noted that cremations for those who died of COVID-19 would continue during the Undas week.