MANILA, Philippines – As millions of people trooped to cemeteries across the Metro to honour their dead over the All-Saints’ Day and All-Souls’ Day weekend, mounds of garbage were left in their wake.
On Sunday, Francis Tolentino, chairperson of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported over radio DZMM that 19 truckloads of trash were collected from the Manila North Cemetery, while 17 truckloads were collected from the Manila South Cemetery.
The MMDA head said that Caloocan City’s Environmental Sanitation Services likewise removed at least one truckload of garbage early Sunday morning from the Sangandaan Public Cemetery.
Tolentino said that on Monday, the MMDA will collect more garbage from various cemeteries around the Metro, even as he noted that a portion of the trash is a result of the “Undas” tradition of leaving candles and flowers at the graves of the departed.