Manila’s North, South cemeteries see orderly opening

Like zombies in apocalyptic films, people started swamping the Manila North and South cemeteries Monday morning on the eve of Undas, with Manila Police District chief P/Brig. Gen. Andrei Dizon saying everything's "under control."

"Generally peaceful and orderly," was how Dizon described the opening by 5 a.m. of the capital city's, if not the country's, two biggest cemeteries.

About a million burials had been conducted at Manila's North Cemetery at present since its formal opening in 1904 when it was formerly known as Cementerio del Norte, after it was referred to by national hero Dr. Jose Rizal as "Paang Bundok," his preferred burial ground.

"Paang Bundok" is now a barangay located smack within the cemetery grounds.

Dizon said everyone who entered the various cemeteries in Manila and those who would do so today and tomorrow, All-Saints' and All-Soul's days, would have to pass inspections — no exceptions.

The police are on the lookout for items prohibited inside cemeteries, including deadly weapons, intoxicating liquor, gambling items and sound systems, among others.

The cemeteries were closed during Undas 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and so people were really eager to visit their loved ones having their eternal rest there, Dizon told Daily Tribune.

The MPD chief said that as Covid-19 has yet to be deep-sixed, they will be strict in enforcing health protocols, including the no-mask, no-entry policy of the city government of Manila, even if the national government has declared that wearing masks in public is already optional.

Children aged 12 and below who are not yet vaccinated against Covid are also barred from entering Manila cemeteries, he said.

Separate entrances for men and women were set up, according to Dizon, to hasten the inspection of people entering cemeteries. Elderly citizens and persons with disability will be provided free rides by e-trikes, he added.

"I am happy to report," Dizon told this reporter in a phone interview, "that, generally, the opening to the public of the North and South cemeteries had been very good, thanks to efforts by the police and traffic personnel."

Vendors had been given some space at the gates of cemeteries to provide people necessities like water and snacks, but only a limited number of stalls had been given permits by the Manila local government, he said.