Tales from the Mt. Carmel crypt

When Gloria Romero was on the verge of being a movie queen early in the 1950s, she asked permission from Dr. Jose Perez, the boss of her home studio, Sampaguita Pictures, if she could take a few days off from film work to visit the grave of her mother in time for All Saints’ Day. Her mother, Mary Galla, who died on the eve of liberation in 1945, was buried at the municipal cemetery of Mabini in Pangasinan.

Dr. Perez, of course, was going to give her the time off. But the star-builder tried to figure out in his head how Gloria was going to make the trip to Pangasinan. Gloria didn’t have a car yet and regularly took a cab from her rented Kamuning home to the Sampaguita studios in Gilmore, Quezon City. 

The first question Dr. Perez asked Gloria after he said yes was: “Paano ka pupunta ng Pangasinan (How are you going to get to Pangasinan)?” Gloria’s quick reply: “Sasakay po ako ng Pantranco (I will ride the Pantranco bus).”

Dr. Perez couldn’t believe his ears. Shaking his head, he reminded Gloria: “Pero may pangalan ka na (But you are already known)!”

In a determined, but still respectful tone, Gloria shot back: “Doc, wala na po akong pakialam (Doc, I don’t care anymore)!”

And so, Gloria took the Pantranco, which is short for Pangasinan Transportation Company.  She was able to pay her respects to her mother’s remains in Pangasinan and still had time to bond with her cousins, who all affectionately called her “Goyang.” 

Returning to Manila, she took the Pantranco bus again and, at the station, she was met by a man who told her: “Pinasusundo po kayo ni Dr. Perez (Dr. Perez is having you fetched).”

Gloria took one look at the car – a maroon Studebaker - and said: “Hindi ‘yan ang kotse ni Dr. Perez. That’s not Dr. Perez’s car).” The man’s reply: “Sa inyo po ang kotseng ‘yan – kasama ako (That car is yours, including myself).” Dr. Perez had thoughtfully bought a car for the studio’s new hot property and that was the same automobile Gloria used for many years every time she had to go visit her mother’s grave in Pangasinan.

When her father, Pedro Galla, died in 1977, Gloria also had him buried in Pangasinan beside Mary. Gloria, therefore, had to travel more often to her hometown to visit the graves of her parents, particularly on All Saints’ Day.

In 2012, however, Gloria decided to have the remains of her parents exhumed and transferred to a location close by. She was turning 80 and no longer had the strength to travel long distances.

She thought it was more practical to have her parents’ remains cremated and moved to the crypt of Mt. Carmel parish (now minor basilica). That’s walking distance from her house in New Manila. The problem was the availability of an ossuary (that’s where urns are placed) in the church where she heard Sunday mass. 

The Mt. Carmel crypt was set up in the 1970s right under the church. Manila residents who were tired of squeezing into packed cemeteries on All Saints’ Day dug up the skeletal remains of their deceased loved ones and installed these in the Mt. Carmel crypt. It had become the most practical way of visiting the dead.

In time, Mt. Carmel opened more spaces for ossuaries. Cremation by then had become an acceptable final resting place option even among Christians. Mt. Carmel parishioners made a dash for it – at P5,000 per slot. Some were big enough to accommodate as many as five urns per ossuary.

Even business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, a New Manila resident, bought a separate section in a prominent area of the crypt in the 1980s. The first to occupy it was beauty queen-turned-TV host Rio Diaz, who became Danding’s daughter-in-law when she married his son Charlie Cojuangco in the mid-1990s. Charlie joined Rio in the Mt. Carmel crypt upon his death in 2022 after losing his battle with brain cancer.

Danding’s remains are now also there in Mt. Carmel. He died in 2020. Those visiting the crypt cannot miss his final resting place.

White marble

With all the slots filled up, Gloria was actually lucky to find an ossuary that only became available after an early buyer decided to resell. Gloria shelled out P125,000 for that spot. It was a good buy given the fact that there wasn’t any more ossuary available then, especially now.

Gloria moved quickly. She had the remains of her parents removed from the Mabini, Pangasinan cemetery and, after securing the necessary permits, had these transported to Manila. 

After the remains were cremated at the Arlington Funeral Homes, she proceeded with the “inurnment,” a new term that was obviously borrowed from the word “internment,” which means “putting a corpse in a grave.” Why inurnment? Because the remains being interred are placed in an urn.

Gloria didn’t make a big to-do about her parents’ inurnment. It happened on an ordinary day with just her driver accompanying her. She was assisted by Vivienne Villafania, then the crypt’s administrator, who also helped her secure the ossuary. Also present in the inurnment were crypt employees named Maura and Chayong. 

Ms. Villafania called for a priest to bless the urns – made of white marble – before these were installed inside the ossuary. With her parents’ resting place nearby, Gloria was able to pay her respects to them more often. 

Sadly, more than a decade later, Gloria’s cremated remains are now also in that same ossuary she so lovingly bought for her parents. There are now three of them there. The ashes of Gloria’s husband, Juancho Gutierrez, are also in the Mt. Carmel crypt, but in a separate area.

Juancho couldn’t be placed in the same ossuary as the Gallas family since he is only an in-law and that would have been odd. In fact, Juancho never even got to meet his mother-in-law, the former Mary Borrego, who died 15 years before Gloria became his spouse.

Straight from the heart

The cremation rites for Gloria took place last 29 January. Her urn was initially placed in a makeshift altar in the bedroom of daughter Maritess Gutierrez in their New Manila residence. 

Gloria’s inurnment took place last Thursday — on the 40th day after her passing (25 January). It started with a 2 p.m. mass — officiated by Fr. John Sison — in one of the mortuary chapels in Mt. Carnel. It was a solemn affair attended only by family and very close friends.

After the mass, there was a short procession to the crypt which now serves as Gloria’s final resting place. Everyone said an emotional goodbye to the queen. 

This writer helped craft the priest’s homily during the mass for Gloria’s 40th day and inurnment. Fr. Sison only used it as guide and delivered his own and it touched the emotions of everyone present during the mass.

Now, let me share with you the gist of the original homily I wrote. What you will read below is part of the original piece that was composed straight from the heart of this writer.

Gloria was known for her humility. In spite of all those achievements, she remained humble. Never once did she brag about her being a good actress. Every recognition humbled her even more. Gloria’s co-actors recognized that beautiful quality in her.

But there was one aspect in Gloria’s life, which practically went unnoticed even among friends. And that is her spirituality. 

Gloria’s life was not perfect. She had her own sufferings and pains on this earth. But did we ever hear her complain? 

Like her character in Tanging Yaman, she offered all her sufferings to the Lord. What most people probably do not know is Gloria’s religiosity. But she was never one to bandy that around. And she was never self-righteous. Never a religious bigot. Her faith was strong and she had a close relationship with God.

We all miss Gloria and will continue to miss her. But let us all be happy knowing that she is now in a better place than all of us.