Prices of flowers start to go up

A WEEK before the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, prices of flowers sold outside Mandaue City have started to rise.

Vendors at the St. Joseph Parish Roman Catholic Cemetery said suppliers have already started increasing their prices.

Gina Bangki, a flower vendor for 25 years said the increase in prices in their stalls is just passed on as their suppliers have jacked up wholesale prices of flowers.

“Compared to previous years, sales at this time of the year is slower,” Bangki said in Cebuano.

To prepare for the annual visit to cemeteries, relatives have started cleaning up the tombs of their loved ones.

Young boys who are either out of school or on mid-year school break take the opportunity to earn extra money.

Roldan, 10, who skipped school this year because of financial problems, earns P150 to P200 day cleaning tombs.

Bringing with him a can of paint, a broomstick and rags, Roldan works in the public cemetery from 7 a.m. to 5:30 pm.

He said he also plans to clean tombs for a fee at other cemeteries in barangay Guizo, Mandaue City like the Mandaue Memorial Park, and the municipal cemetery.

Eliza Sumayang along, with his son and daughter, were among those who visited the cemetery yesterday.

She spruced up the tomb of her husband, who died on 2008.

As early as yesterday, said Sumayang, they prefer to start preparing the pantheon of her husband to avoid the crowds on the last day of October, which is also Halloween.

“It’s better to prepare this early, so that when we visit his tomb next week during for All Saints’ Day, we will only focus on praying for his soul,” Sumayang said.