Novaliches a burial center in northern Metro Manila

Holy Cross Memorial Park in Novaliches, Quezon City (PNA File Photo)

MANILA — Believe it or not, Novaliches—a former town removed from the country’s map over a century ago because of inadequate population and income—is now literally serving as a burial center in northern Metro Manila.

Five big memorial parks (a mild term for burying grounds) and six cemeteries—five public and one private—are serving as final resting places for the dead in Novaliches, divided between Quezon City and Caloocan City at present.

This is among the reasons why there have been perennial traffic snarls in all streets leading to Novaliches in the past four-and-a-half decades since the 1970s.
The daily traffic problem becomes more acute during the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, from the eve of Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

For at least three days at this time of the year, practically all roads leading to Novaliches are clogged with vehicles of all types, bearing hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, visiting the graves of their departed loved ones.

Of the five public cemeteries, three are in Novaliches, Quezon City, and the two others are in Caloocan.

The three memorial parks in the QC area are the Holy Cross Memorial Park along P. Dela Cruz St. in Barangay San Bartolome; the Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park along Tandang Sora Ave. in Barangay Pasong Tamo; and the Eternal Gardens along Quirino Highway in Barangays Baesa and Balonbato, just off Balintawak.

Those in the Novaliches-Caloocan area are the Forest Memorial Park in Barangay Bagumbong and the Serenity Memorial Park in neighboring Barangay Deparo.

The oldest among these memorial parks is the Holy Cross Memorial Park, established in the early 1960s. Prior to the establishment of similar memorial parks in the nearby towns (now cities) of Valenzuela, Meycauayan, and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, affluent families in these areas were burying their dead relatives at the Holy Cross Memorial Park.

On the other hand, public cemeteries in Novaliches, QC are the Novaliches Catholic Cemetery along Gen. Luis St. in Novaliches Poblacion; the Bagbag Public Cemetery along Quirino Highway in Barangay Bagbag; and the Baesa-Sangandaan Cemetery, also along Quirino Highway. The oldest among these three is the Novaliches Catholic Cemetery, established in 1856.

The two public cemeteries in the Caloocan portion are the Bagbaguin Cemetery along Gen. Luis St. in Barangay Bagbaguin and the Tala Cemetery in Barangay Bagong Silang, considered as the biggest barangay in the country today in terms of population and land area.

The lone private cemetery in Novaliches is the Jesuits Cemetery at the compound of the Sacred Heart Novitiate and Seminary along Quirino Highway in Barangay Pasong Putik Proper, just off the Quezon City-Caloocan boundary near the La Mesa Dam. Among those buried in the Jesuits cemetery were three noted priests–historian Fr. Horacio dela Costa, 1989 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism; Fr. James Reuters; and activist doctor-priest Fr. Romeo “Archie” Intengan.

There is no exact figure for the number of people buried in these memorial parks and cemeteries in Novaliches, but it could easily exceed the million mark.

One thing sure is that the presence of these burial grounds in the area is creating grave traffic problems in Novaliches every time All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are observed on Nov. 1 and 2.

Most of the people visiting their dead relatives in the five memorial parks on Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and 2 are car owners who drive their vehicles bumper-to-bumper along the roads leading to Novaliches, particularly along Quirino Highway from Balintawak, Susano Road leading to North Caloocan, Tandang Sora Avenue, C5 Road-Mindanao Avenue, Gen. Luis St., and Commonwealth Avenue.

As a backgrounder, Novaliches was created as a municipality during the Spanish regime in 1855. After the two succeeding Filipino-Spanish and Filipino-American wars (1896-1901), the town’s population was reduced drastically to just 1,556 as of 1902. As a result, Novaliches was reduced to a barrio and annexed to the then town of Caloocan, Rizal in 1903.

When Quezon City was declared as the capital of the country in place of Manila in 1948, Novaliches was divided between QC and Caloocan, which became a city in February 1962. Although Quezon City ceased to be the Philippine capital under a presidential decree issued in 1976 by then President Ferdinand Marcos, the divisive state of Novaliches remains to this day.