Loyola Memorial Park. NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Compared to the more than 30,000 people who trooped to the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City in last year’s All Saints’ Day, the total number of visitors Friday went down to a low 4,000, police said.
Senior Superintendent Reynaldo Jagmis, team leader of the Marikina security force, said that the crowd estimate in the Makati cemetery was higher by only five hundred as of 4 p.m.
A Loyola Memorial Park official said that from the 25,000 to 30,000 estimate in 2012, the number of people who visited their departed decreased by about 21,000 this year.
“This was because the All Saints’ Day fell on a Friday, making way for a long weekend,” Ryan Marcelo, Loyola interment service official said.
About 35,000 up to 40,000 were laid to rest in Loyola Memorial Park, the largest cemetery in Marikina.
Meanwhile, Marcelo said the traffic issues in Loyola, particularly double parking, remained despite the decrease in the volume of people flocking to the cemetery.
Anticipating heavy traffic in Andres Bonifacio avenue where Loyola lies, traffic authorities enforced the one-way scheme, separating the route going to the entrance and exit gates of Loyola.
Donna Rivamonte, a flower vendor at Tessie’s flowers in front of Loyola, lamented that their sales went down because of the said traffic scheme.
Instead of passing through Don Gonzalo Puyat street, vehicles entering Loyola were rerouted to the opposite side.
The flower shop Rivamonte works at is situated along Don Gonzalo Puyat street fronting the cemetery’s main entrance.
“But I’m sure our sales will catch up. Here in Loyola, All Saints’ Day is observed for a week,” she said.
Meanwhile, rural health physician from Marikina City Health Office Dr. Enrique Alberto told INQUIRER.net that most concerns in the health desk were due to high blood, heat exhaustion, dehydration.
“Apart from those few incidents, no serious injuries happened here,” Alberto said.
As litters continue to pile around the cemetery, the Marikina Environmental Police enforcers made sure that every hour, a garbage truck roams Loyola to collect garbage.
Brian Montano, an environmental police enforcer, said they will start the overall mopping up operation as the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day holidays end on November 3.
Related Story:
Over 7,000 visit dead in Marikina cemetery—police