Manila North Cemetery allows cleanup of tombs until Oct. 29

The cleaning and repairing of tombs at the Manila North Cemetery in preparation for All Saints' Day (Undas) has been extended until Tuesday, October 29, according to Darlene Cay’s report on 24 Oras Weekend on Saturday.

Gerald hurriedly fixed his family’s mausoleums since it was supposed to be the last day that cleaning and repairing were allowed at the Manila North Cemetery.

“Nu'ng (October) 22 pa kami nandito kasi nga dahil paulan-ulan, hindi namin matapos-tapos. Ngayon pipilitin namin matapos. Sakto ngayon maganda ang panahon, maaraw na,” Gerald said.

(We have been doing repair work since October 22 but we could finish it due to the rain. We will try to finish it today. Good thing the weather is fair now, and the sun is out.)

Another family visited their departed loved ones ahead of All Saints’ Day to avoid the crowd and traffic.

“Hindi po kasi umaayon ang panahon. Nagkaroon tayo ng bagyo. Siyempre 'yung mga kaanak [gusto nila] magkaroon sila ng ano, ng extension kasi hindi po namin nagawa 'yung paglilinis,” said Manila North Cemetery director Roselle Castañeda.

(The weather was not in our favor since there was a storm. Of course, the families would want an extension since they were not able to clean and repair the tombs.)

The Manila North Cemetery will be open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 until Nov. 3.

During these dates, vehicles are not allowed to enter the cemetery while burials and cremations will be postponed.

Campaign paraphernalia for the May 2025 elections as well as tents of politicians are also prohibited inside the cemetery.

The Philippine National Police said at least 7,000 police will be deployed nationwide for Undas 2024.

November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day) have earlier been declared special non-working days by Malacañang. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/KG, GMA Integrated News