Some cemeteries damaged, flooded due ahead of Undas

Some people wanting to visit their departed loved ones ahead of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day were inconvenienced as certain cemeteries in parts of Luzon were flooded, Vonne Aquino reported Sunday on 24 Oras Weekend.

At Sta. Iglesia Katoliko Public Cemetery in Masantol, Pampanga, some tombs were submerged in garbage-filled floodwater.

According to the caretaker, several other tombs were submerged, and during high tide, the pathway leading to other tombs cannot be used.

“Itirik ko yung kandila mo para mag-upa siya, bigyan ako ng bente, sikwenta ganun, yun lang. Nagpapatirik kasi ang tubig pag lumusong ka diyan halos lubog na ko,” said tomb digger Arnold Manansala .

(I will light the candle for them for P20 or P50, that’s it. They let me light the candle for them since the floodwater is deep.)

Members of the Alba family were painting the tombs of their loved ones and met the same problem, encountering knee-deep floods when the rains come.

“Sa bahay na lang pag yung hindi makapunta rito, nagsisindi ng mga kandila. Pag wala nang tubig, napupuntahan na namin,” Edilberto Alba said.

(We light a candle at home if we cannot come here. When the water is gone, we will visit the cemetery.)

Still in Masantol town, mossy floodwaters can be seen at Holy Spirit Memorial Park while Santa Elena Cemetery is also flooded.

In a public cemetery in Macabebe, Pampanga, water lilies now cover the floodwaters.

Meanwhile, no one is cleaning the tombs and lighting the candles in Barangay San Sebastian in Hagonoy, Bulacan. The floodwaters there, caused by high tide due to the rain, are dark and foul-smelling.

Meanwhile, in a public cemetery in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, some tombs were covered in soil and the wall collapsed due to the Southwest Monsoon and storm.

It is expected the rehabilitation will be done this week.

Flooding has also been a problem at the Maa Public Cemetery in Davao City for a long time, but there are plans for rehabilitation. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BM, GMA Integrated News