Filipinos start paying homage to dead ahead of Nov. 1 Undas

(Updated 4:36 p.m.) While most of the Western World celebrates Halloween today, Filipinos have started flocking into cemeteries to pay homage to their dearly departed of ahead of All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.

GMA News said in its Flash Report that hundreds of thousands have already been seen in cemeteries in Metro Manila.

In the Manila North Cemetery alone, police estimate that over 20,000 people have already arrived to visit the tombs of their loved ones, according to a report by radiodzBB’s Carlo Mateo.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) have been on full alert since Friday, deploying intelligence operatives throughout Manila City and imposing stricter security measures in cemeteries.

In line with an ongoing anti-crime campaign during the observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day, the Manila Police District (MPD) has taken steps to secure residential areas from lawless elements, as thousands of residents have gone on vacation to the provinces, said MPD spokesperson and Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo.

Robbers may “take advantage" and break into homes left empty, Margarejo said.

At the North Cemetery, police have barred motorcycles and scooters from entering. They have also confiscated hundreds of bladed and pointed objects brought in by visitors who said they planned to use the tools to clean tombs, Mateo reported.

Plenty of people have also been caught trying to smuggle liquor into the cemeteries, said Mateo...


Plenty of people have also been caught trying to smuggle liquor into the cemeteries, said Mateo.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who dropped by local cemeteries early this morning, said he expected Undas — Filipino for the traditional celebration of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day — to pass without much untoward incidents.

DzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo reported that a map has been set up for visitors to the 25-hectare Manila South Cemetery, many of whom said they had decided to visit on Halloween to avoid the huge crowds expected to flock to cemeteries this Monday and Tuesday.

Aquino to visit on All Souls’ Day

President Benigno Aquino, set to return to the Philippines from Vietnam Sunday night, will be among the throng of people at the graves of their loved ones on Nov. 1, reported dzRB.

Aquino’s parents — the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and the late President Corazon Aquino — are interred at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

DzRB said in its broadcast that Aquino, who has waged a campaign against ‘wangwangs’ or car sirens, and does not use these himself, is bracing for the usual traffic jams that congest the metropolis during Undas.

Aquino is due to arrive at around 7 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

There is no official schedule yet on the time Aquino will visit his parents’ tomb Monday, Valte said.


Campaign vs. ‘zombasura’

However, the millions of Filipinos expected to descend upon the cemeteries during Undas are also expected to leave behind an enormous amount of garbage.

As cemeteries become congested with food, candle, and flower vendors — who are doing brisk business, their prices jacked up for the occasion — members of the Caloocan diocese ecology ministry and the environmental advocate group EcoWaste Coalition gathered at La Loma Catholic Cemetery in Quezon City, urging visitors to keep the historic site garbage free.

“I call upon the faithful to remember and pray for our dearly departed in a way that will not worsen the garbage problem in our communities," said Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr., who also heads the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines public affairs unit.

Opened in 1884, the 54-hectare “Campo Santo de La Loma" is the resting place of many Filipinos that form part of Philippine histroy, including Cayetano Arellano and Victorino Mapa, the country’s first and second Supreme Court Chief Justices; Librada Avelino, founder of Centro Escolar University; Josefa Llanes Escoda, initiator of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines; and Felisa Dayrit, a nurse from the 1896-1898 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish regime.

“Our time-honored tradition of remembering the dead should not defile our Mother Nature... I particularly urge those going to La Loma to help in keeping the cemetery litter-free," he added in an article posted Sunday on EcoWaste's blog site

EcoWaste echoed Iñiguez's plea for an ecological observance of “Undas," stressing that cemeteries should not be treated as garbage disposal sites.

“La Loma and other cemeteries are not dumping grounds for our discards… let us get rid of our ‘Zombasura’ habits," he added.

Last week, EcoWaste issued several tips to ensure that “the beautiful tradition of remembering the dead" does not lead to “supposedly hallowed burial sites instantly turning into dumpsites."

“Let us respect the dead and not desecrate the cemeteries with trash," EcoWaste president Roy Alvarez said on the group’s blog site.

The group’s tips include:

* Walk, bike, carpool or take the public transportation to the cemeteries.

* Offer local fresh flowers, not plastic, or consider bringing potted plants and flowers instead.

* Avoid wrapping floral or plant offerings in plastic, which will sooner or later end up as trash.

* Bring your own water jug to avoid purchasing bottled water, according to EcoWaste.

* Discarded plastic bottles add up to the country’s garbage problem.

* Go for waste-free meals.

* Say yes to reusable carriers, containers, and utensils such as lunchboxes and thermos, cloth napkins and silverwares.

* Say no to throw-away bags, wraps, foil or Styrofoam, paper napkins, and forks and spoons.



Take full responsibility for your discards, the group said. Put them into the recycling bins and never litter. Better still, bring your own discards bags and bring them home for sorting, reusing, recycling or composting.

Good weather

Filipinos going to cemeteries today can expect generally good weather, except for cloudy skies and scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

"Eastern and Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms," the weather bureau said. — KBK/VS, GMANews.TV