INQUIRER.net file photo / Noy Morcoso
MANILA, Philippines –After being barred for two years due to the COVID-19 lockdown, people were finally able to pay their respects at the Manila North Cemetery on All Saints’ Day, also known as Undas.
According to Manila Police District Director Brigadier General Andre Perez Dizon, the cemetery had seen almost 91,000 visitors as of noon.
Noel R. Espiritu, a man who visited the cemetery to pray at his family’s graves, spoke with INQUIRER.net. Espiritu’s four-month-old baby was buried with his family.
“Iba talaga yung personal na pupuntahan mo ang loved ones. Loved ones ang matatawag ko, kasi lahat na eh. Iyon ang akin, iba talaga yung mai-shashare mo, mapapakita mo sa pamamagitan ng aktwal,” Espiritu said.
(It is different if you visit your loved ones personally. I call them loved ones because it is all of them already. That is for me. It is different if you show up.)
Another visitor, Carmelli Lorenzo Arcilla, hoped the pandemic would end so that she and her relatives could visit their tomb. She mentioned that her family owes a great deal to their forefathers, who were able to open a funeral home and care for their needs.
“Sana matapos na ‘tong pandemic para mabalik na kami sa dati naming tradisyon na every, kadadating ng Undas, lahat kami na pamilya, na kukumpleto, kasi dito lang kami nagsasama-sama,” said Arcilla.
When the INQUIRER.net team interviewed Arcilla, she was only with two other relatives. She explained that her other family members had illnesses that made them unable to go.
While the Manila North Cemetery is the last stop for personalities like film legend Fernando Poe Jr. to various Philippine presidents like Ramon Magsaysay and Sergio Osmena Sr., for many people, this is simply where their personal loved ones are laid to rest.
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LOOK: At least 91,000 people visit Manila North Cemetery for Undas 2022