Filipinos carrying flowers, candles and bags of food yesterday thronged cemeteries across the Catholic-majority Philippines to pay their respects to dead loved ones on All Saints’ Day.
Hundreds of thousands of people fanned out across sprawling graveyards in the capital, Manila, to hold picnics on tombs or pray quietly in front of a relative or friend’s final resting place.
Among the visitors at Manila North Cemetery was Zenaida Cruz, 77, who walked slowly with her husband to the tomb of her parents and grandparents to offer candles and a prayer.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Cruz used to leave flowers at the gravesite, but inflation had pushed prices of even simple bouquets beyond her limited budget.
“As long as I can walk, I will still visit, because this is a tradition,” Cruz said. “This tradition won’t fade, but of course, it won’t be as grand as before when there were many flowers and many candles.”
The annual ritual is an ancient Christian tradition honoring all saints and martyrs who died for the faith.
In the deeply religious Philippines, the day is a public holiday to enable people to travel hours to visit grave sites in far-flung parts of the country.
Manila Police District Director Colonel Arnold Ibay said that he expected about 1 million visitors to Manila North Cemetery, where poor families live alongside the dead in shanties and mausoleums.
Jenny Rose De Vera, 31, was joined by her friends, family and in-laws to offer her partner of 15 years pieces of prawn crackers from a fast-food chain and half a hot dog. That had been his favorite food before he was killed in a road accident in September.
“It’s important [to visit the dead] so they can still feel that they are still important to us and that we will never forget them,” De Vera said.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
RSS