Culture: Million of Filipinos reuniting and partying with the dead in tombs and graves

Millions across Philippines visit their dead

 

Millions across the Philippines visited cemeteries Thursday to pay respects to their dead, in an annual tradition that combines Catholic religious rites with the country's penchant for festivity.

 

At Manila's Loyola Memorial Park, one of the city's biggest private cemeteries, families had camped overnight, pitched up tents and brought in food for a day-long All Saint's Day picnic by the graves and tombs of their dead.

 

In crowded public cemeteries elsewhere across the city of 15 million, police confiscated alcoholic beverages and banned gambling to maintain peace and order.

 

Hundreds of medics and volunteers also set up field clinics to provide medical assistance. Radio reports said many had fainted due to the extreme heat in densely packed cemeteries.

 

"This occasion serves as our family reunion," said Fely de Leon, a retired 80-year-old businesswoman as she laid out an assortment of food on small tables around the plots of her late father and brother.

 

"We will be here for the rest of the day, and we expect more or less 30 family members to arrive."

 

Nearby, loud music blared from a portable karaoke machine -- singing is a national past time -- as a family ignored appeals from the Catholic church to keep the occasion solemn.

 

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) meanwhile warned the public against fake priests roaming the cemeteries and reciting prayers for unsuspecting families in exchange for monetary donations.

 

And for millions of Catholic Filipinos overseas who could not come home to visit their dead, the CBCP said it had put up a special portal (www.undasonline.com ) where they could log on and request special prayers and masses.

 

The site also offers podcasts on the significance and liturgical meanings of All Saint's Day, it said.

 

MSN

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Philippines offers ₱10.3 Million Aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy in the United States

This photo provided by 6abc Action News shows the Inlet section of Atlantic City, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy makes it approach, Monday. AP/6abc Action News 

The Philippine government has offered ₱10.3 Million ($250,000 USD) to help the victims of Superstorm Sandy which wreaked havoc in the US east coast.

 

"Thank you government of the Philippines which will donate ₱10.3 Million ($250,000 USD) to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. True partners and friends!," US Ambassador Harry Thomas said in his official Twitter account late Wednesday.

 

Sandy, the worst storm to hit the US region, has claimed more than 60 lives and left billions of dollars in damages.

 

The Philippine embassy in Washington in a statement urged Filipino victims of the super storm to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions as the dangers posed by the disaster were not over.

 

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia noted that although Sandy weakened since making landfall Monday evening, the "on-going disaster" continued to bring rains and strong winds that could pose serious threats to populated areas while making its way towards Canada in the next two days.

 

"We would like to remind our kababayans, particularly those in New Jersey and New York, to remain in their homes until such time that authorities say that it is safe for them to venture out," Cuisia said, warning that affected populations face risks from flood waters and downed trees and power lines.

 

He added that members of the Filipino Community in the affected areas should wait until basic services such as power and transport had been restored before leaving the safety of their homes.

 

The embassy and the Philippine Consulate General in New York also said they did not receive any reports of Filipino casualties in the region, but that an undetermined number of Filipinos were evacuated in Atlantic City, Jersey City, New Milford and other areas in New Jersey as well as in City Island and Staten Island in New York due to flood waters.

 

Consul General Mario de Leon, meanwhile, noted that reports from the leaders of the Filipino community also indicated that a large number of Filipinos were among the 8.5 million people in 13 states that suffered from power outages.

 

He said there were also reports several Filipinos sustained some damage to their homes in Nassau and Queens Counties in New York as well as in Hamden and Stamford in Connecticut as a result of violent winds and storm surges.

 

In Connecticut and Long Island, some Filipinos were also reported to be running low on potable water while many others in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, had no internet, telephone or cellular phone connectivity, said De Leon.

 

The embassy and the Consulate General in New York said they continued to monitor the situation on a 24-hour-basis and had placed teams on standby to assist Filipinos.  The two posts also remained in touch with leaders of the Filipino community in the affected areas.

 

The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago headed by Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim has also urged the Filipinos in Ohio and Michigan to make the necessary preparations as the storm continues to move towards the Great Lakes region and Canada.

 

Inquirer 

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