Visiting the Dead--It's More Fun in the Philippines

About two years ago I decided to visit the North Cemetery. I learned that important people are buried there and I wanted to see their graves.

The first thing I discovered—and which to me was an unpleasant surprise -- was that the North Cemetery was not only the resting place of the dead but also a residential area for the living. I did not only find mausoleums but also houses. However, it proved to be a blessing because I was able to get directions from the residents (the living residents not the dead!).

I saw the tombs of Magsaysay, Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas and Manuel Quezon. I saw the tombs of Claro M. Recto, Arsenio (who earned the monicker “Arsenic”) Lacson, a mayor of Manila. Pancho Villa (the first Filipino champion in the flyweight division) has his tomb there. The tombs of National Artists and other literary figures are found there, too, such as Honorata dela Rama, Amado Hernandez, and Huseng Batute.

Next weekend will find Filipinos making their yearly pilgrimage to the tombs of their loved ones. Bus stations, airports and piers will be crowded with people on their way to the provinces. Undas is like a grand re-union that includes the living and the dead. This phenomenon seems to confirm the strength and extent of family ties, for even death seems to be powerless to sever these ties.

Every Filipino re-union is characterized by lots of talk and laughter, lots of eating and drinking, and singing (using Magic Sing). The re-union in the panchon (cemeteries) is no exception. However, liquor and deadly weapons are forbidden in an attempt to forestall violence. The karaoke and videoke are usually not allowed, too, in an effort to maintain a more sober ambience.

We Filipinos do not usually distinguish between the social and the religious because we see life as an indivisible whole. The yearly trek to the panchon is a social event with a religious motivation. We go there not only to meet our relatives. We go there to pray for the dead, too. And that should not be forgotten. Let us make sure it remains that way.