THE number of people who paid a visit to their departed loved ones at the Manila North Cemetery and Manila South Cemetery during ‘Undas’ was much lower than expected.
Thus reported acting Manila Mayor Yul Servo-Nieto, as he also received information from MNC Director Yayay Castaneda and MSC chief Jonathan Garzon that except for the confiscation of some prohibited items, no untoward incident had been reported during the observance of ‘Undas’ in the said cemeteries.
Servo-Nieto said both cemeteries were open from October 31 to November 2 only, since they had to be closed on October 29 and 30 due to typhoon “Paeng.” The observance of ‘Undas’ in said cemeteries was generally peaceful and orderly.
It was learned that the volume of visitors in the said cemeteries did not reach as high as expected, compared to pre-pandemic.
The MNC in particular, being the biggest cemetery in the country, had readied for the influx of about a million visitors, according to Castaneda.
As of 3 p.m. of November 2, however, she the number of visitors at the MNC reached only about 250,000, while about 210,000 went to the MSC.
Flammable items topped the list of confiscation which reached 1,566 at the MNC and about 500 at the MSC. Also confiscated were about 20 bladed weapons.
The two cemeteries opened at 5 a.m. and closed down at 5 p.m. from October 31 to November 2.
Castaneda said that MNC will be back to the normal operating hours of from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning November 3 onward. The same is expected of MSC.
