Filipinos with flowers and umbrellas flocked to cemeteries in the majority-Catholic Philippines on Tuesday to pay tribute to their dead loved ones on All Saints’ Day for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It rained as thousands walked or took free motorized tricycle services to graves scattered across sprawling cemeteries in the capital, Manila, where many poor families live in barracks or mausoleums alongside the dead.
Ahead of the “Day of the Dead,” a massive tropical storm triggered landslides and floods in the archipelagic nation, killing at least 110 people and leaving dozens missing.
Among the tens of thousands who flocked to Manila’s North Cemetery was Leonardo Filamor, 58, who paid his respects to a friend who died in 2017.
“Even a typhoon wouldn’t have stopped me from coming here,” said Filamor, leaving a card and a small bouquet of white flowers at the grave.
Filamor said he lives on the street and previously could not afford to take public transport to the cemetery.
“I’m really glad I had the money this time and got to be with him again,” he said.
It was the first time since the pandemic began that cemeteries were opened on November 1 to the ancient Christian tradition honoring all saints and martyrs who died for the faith.
Millions of Filipinos usually go to cemeteries on this day to commemorate their dead relatives by praying, lighting candles and leaving flowers at the gravesites.
People began queuing before sunrise to enter Manila cemeteries.
Flower seller Lucila Cleto said the weekend’s storm hit sales and pushed up prices for chrysanthemums and roses.
“I don’t expect to earn a lot, just enough to make ends meet,” the 52-year-old told AFP as she sat under a tent among buckets of bouquets and flower pots.
Cemeteries in the Philippines range from quiet fields of white crosses to dense “apartment” graves stacked several feet high.
While most people visit the graves of relatives or friends, others go to remember their beloved pets.
“My siblings and I have a big age difference, so growing up I only had Tatsumi as my playmate,” said a 29-year-old woman, referring to her Japanese spitz dog, who was buried under a tree near her grandparents’ grave was.
“I was devastated when he died.”
Mariz Amplayo, who brought her three children to visit her diabetic brother’s grave, said it was an important day for her family.
“Visiting loved ones who have passed away every year keeps their memories alive,” said Amplayo, 47, as she left flowers, candles and food at his grave.
“We never want to forget.”
