Long queues of people entering the Manila North Cemetery to visit their departed relatives on November 1, 2023. INQUIRER.net/ Faith Argosino
MANILA, Philippines — Around 60,000 visitors flocked to the Manila North Cemetery just three hours after it opened its doors at 5 a.m., a police official said on Wednesday.
“As of this time, we have estimated the crowd to be 60,000 and increasing in number,” Manila Police District acting director Arnold Thomas Ibay told INQUIRER.net in an interview.
Ibay said the long queues at the cemetery’s main gate has grown significantly, extending to 25 meters as of 8:30 a.m.
“Nag-extend na ng mga 25 meters yung pila. Ilang lanes din yon. So kaya ngayon lalo natin pinaghi-higpitan ang pag inspect para hindi makapasok mga pinagba-bawal natin dito sa loob ng sementeryo,” Ibay said.
(The crowd already extended to 25 meters, occupying many lanes. So now we are enforcing stricter inspection so that no prohibited items will be brought inside the cemetery.)
People entering the Manila North Cemetery to visit their departed relatives on November 1, 2023. INQUIRER.net/ Faith Argosino
Citing the guidelines released by the Manila North Cemetery last October 11, Ibay said visitors are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages, flammable materials, firearms, sharp objects (knives, cutters), videoke or other devices that create loud sounds, playing cards, bingo cards, or other gambling paraphernalia.
The MPD acting director also said that they are expecting around 300,000 total visitors before the cemetery closes at 5 p.m. based on the current crowd estimate.
“Siguro mga five times of that number (60,000) kasi nakita natin na lalong dumadami yung mga tao,”
(We are expecting five times that number since more people are coming.)
