Metro Manila mayors amenable to ‘Undas’ cemetery closures

MANILA, Philippines — Several Metro Manila mayors have ordered the closure of public and private cemeteries during All Saints’ and All Souls’ days or Undas to prevent crowding and further prevent the spread of COVID-19.

After Manila, the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan, Valenzuela and Marikina ordered their cemeteries closed during the holiday that has traditionally seen millions of Filipinos visiting the graves of their loved ones.

Parañaque Mayor and Metro Manila Council chairman Edwin Olivarez said all 17 mayors of the capital region are yet to meet to establish a uniform guideline for Undas, including the possible closure of cemeteries.

Mayors would also talk about adopting measures that several cities have enforced, including San Juan’s ban on trick or treating and Marikina’s cemetery passes.

“We will talk about it this coming Sunday in the Metro Manila Council to have a uniform, unified policy for the coming (Undas),” he said in an interview aired over dzBB.

The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) also expressed support for moves to regulate or close cemeteries in time for Undas amid the pandemic, although its president, Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr., said the league has yet to discuss the matter.

Velasco stressed the need for local government units to study the regulation of the flow of people, noting that millions of Filipinos go back to their hometowns to visit their deceased loved ones.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. recommended that cemetery visits be scheduled instead to avoid crowding and ensure that physical distancing is observed. ?“We will see if there are alternatives because I believe that All Saints’ Day is important to Filipinos... It is the only day when we can remember our departed loved ones. Let’s see what would be the action of the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases),” Roque said at a press briefing yesterday when asked about the proposal to close cemeteries nationwide.

Olivarez explained that it was the local government’s prerogative to come up with such orders.

“Parañaque, as of now, doesn’t have a cemetery closure order because we want to wait for the discussion with the MMC. Because as I have mentioned, people who come to our cemeteries are not only from the city but also from all over Metro Manila (and other provinces),” Olivarez said.

Manila was the first city to ban visitors in all local private and public cemeteries, memorial parks and columbaries from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, although it allows interment and cremation services for non-COVID cases under strict health protocols.

In San Juan City, aside from banning visitors in local cemeteries and columbaries, the practice of trick or treating and other Halloween activities were also prohibited under Executive Order 49 that Mayor Francis Zamora signed yesterday morning.

Halloween festivities, which coincide with the Undas holidays, are banned in all places including gated subdivisions, condominiums, parks and malls.

In neighboring Mandaluyong City, Mayor Menchie Abalos issued a similar order yesterday, reminding her constituents that the national ban on mass gatherings was still in effect under general community quarantine.

Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said he has yet to release an executive order, but the same measures would be applied in his city during Undas.

His constituents, however, will have an opportunity to visit graves in the city from Oct. 15 to Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 until Nov. 30 but not without securing a cemetery pass from the city government to limit the persons visiting graves.

Teodoro said senior citizens and children would not be allowed to head to cemeteries under quarantine protocols. Bringing food and drinks would also be prohibited.

“We will give our constituents a window of opportunity to visit cemeteries during these periods. We will give out schedules with the help of cemetery administrations,” he added. – Alexis Romero, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Romina Cabrera