Manila’s Cemeteries for the Living
Cohabitating with the Dead: a Filipino Solutingion to Poverty
With rising real-estate prices and 35% of the city's population living below the poverty level, the dead help the living poor in the Philippine's Capital city, Manila.
Maricel E. Burgonio reported on May 27, 2007 in a Manila Times report that, “UBS [an investment research firm] said credit growth, which is driven by the real-estate sector, is expected to further expand if fiscal gains continue.” Only 7 months earlier a retired Boeing worker now living in the Philippines said, “80% of the Filipino population lives on less than P5,000 - P10,000 per month,” about $110-$220. According to the Philippine Construction Network housing costs are “P800,000 and up.” This simply means the average Filipino has a difficult time affording housing while the poor find it nearly impossible.
Residence in Mausoleums
In the Philippines, most of the dead are not buried but placed in chambers (mausoleums) above the ground. Some of these vaults are quite large, with multiple yet separate rooms that may resemble a small house.
Poor residents, or those evicted from their homes, have flocked to these areas in search of a safe place to reside. Many came as caretakers who maintained the tombs for the wealthy families who own them. Lolo Roque said in a November 2006 interview that he came as a caretaker for his grandparents. Then he received other jobs and decided to remain there. “My work is already here,” he said.
The crypts provide both shelter from the elements and privacy from individuals. Trina Federis, completing an exam for school in 2006, remarked,“Here, in…[a] public cemetery…the living may not be thriving, but definitely, they are surviving among the dead.”
Catholic Ceremonies Revere the Dead
The Philippines, a strong Catholic society, has religious roots that date back centuries. Age is cherished and the dead are revered. Individuals, of all financial means, attempt to expend as much money as possible on the dead in both burial ceremonies and remembrance situations.
November 1st, All Saints Day, or Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a day to remember and honor ancestors. The practice predates the Spanish when Mayan and Aztecs held celebrations of the circle of life. When 16th Century Spanish missionaries went to the New World, they adopted the practice but convinced the locals to move the date to November. Spanish missionaries also went to the Philippines in the 16th century and brought the practice there.
The festival and celebration brings Filipino family members together for pleasurable picnics and reunions among the resting places. Friar Jack Wintz wrote,“The joyful and celebratory spirit that marks our own version of the ‘Day of the Dead’ is a nationwide phenomenon….Old folks say it’s always been that way, so I guess it’s a national tradition that spans decades, if not centuries!”
Manila’s North Cemetery
Is approximately 110 acres and located within the heart of the city. The cemetery, nearly bisected by a major roadway, is actually a thriving community. The street is quite clean and lined with trees and flowers and provides additional work for many residents of the cemetery.
As told by Michael Sullivan in an NPR report on August 8th 2007, “… as Manila's population grew, so did the cemetery's. There are now basketball hoops, fast-food stalls and mini-markets tucked in among the crypts and tombs.” Makeshift schools have been formed with volunteer educators from around the city.
However, controversy has since erupted. A new graveyard is being built adjacent to the site and more people are flooding in. There is discord between the novice and long-time residents. "I wish these newcomers would go away," says Christopher Fernandez. "They're giving us a bad name.” Roque Rapon says in the same Michael Sullivan’s report: “I learned to live with it [fear of the graveyard.] Now, I'm more afraid of the living than the dead….”
The sympathetic Mayor, Alfredo Siojo Lim, has a predicament. It originates from complaints filed by visitors who are prayed upon by criminals. He is being forced to evict the residents. No matter what action the mayor will take, “Bernardino and her husband have converted her mother-in-law’s mausoleum into a home for their two sons, their wives and children.”
