A time when Filipinos observe Undas or All Saints’ Day, twenty-nine public cemeteries in the National Capital Region (NCR) will not accept visitors from October 29, 2021, to November 2, 2021. The Metro Manila Council passed a resolution urging local governments in the metropolis to restrict access to public and private cemeteries, memorial parks, and columbaria during the said period, in a bid to prevent mass gatherings that could trigger COVID-19 spread.
On Tuesday, October 12, 2021, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos, coordinator of the 17 NCR mayors, said “Filipinos can still physically visit the graves of their departed loved ones earlier than October 29 or later than November 2, subject to the prescribed 30% venue capacity”. Mayors in the region implemented the same measure in 2020 when the Philippines was seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic.
