At a funeral I noticed a strange triad of tombs on the outside wall of the cemetery.
The strange thing about these tombs is that none of them have proper memorial plaques. Instead it appears that the memorial was written on with a marker or painted on with black paint.
Some of them look good.
Most of them look really awful.
I would guess families forgo fancy memorial plaques because of monetary costs. The expense of burying a loved one and maintaining their grave is very high in the Philippines. Many poor families are forced to rent a grave rather than buy one.
Caretakers also tend to the apartment tombs. Unlike more elaborate burial structures, which are bought and owned in perpetuity, apartment tombs can only be rented for five-year terms, after which the bones of the deceased will be evicted. Then there are two options: the bone box, a concrete ossuary not much bigger than a large shoe box; or the rice sack, labelled with the surname of the dead and tossed on to a tumbling pile in a tin and breeze-block shed at the rear of the cemetery.
For a fee, renewals on the lease of an apartment tomb were offered before 2008. Then the Pasay City Public Cemetery was taken over by new management and, due to overcrowding, it said, renewals would no longer be granted.
Those are unclaimed human remains spilling out of torn rice sacks. In the Philippines if you cannot afford to buy a grave you will eventually be placed in a rice sack and tossed into an ossuary. This is appalling and even the poorest man does not deserve this indignity. But dignity has always been in short supply in the Philippines.
If you think Bato Dela Rosa deserves a seat in the Senate then good for you. Have a cookie. But if you think it's a wonderful and appropriate idea to hang Bato's campaign poster in a cemetery then there are not words low and dirty enough to describe you.
Why would anybody think this is a good idea? What kind of person would look at this mausoleum and think, "That's the spot. That's where I will hang this Bato poster." Maybe they are being ironic seeing as many thousands died during op-tokhang while he was PNP Chief. Probably not. There are a lot of campaign posters hung up in this cemetery so maybe they thought this would be a nice prominent spot out front where everyone can see the poster.
On the back wall of this mausoleum is a picture of its inhabitant.
He looks none too pleased to have Bato's poster blocking the view. His name is Ramon De La Cruz Labrador. Born August 31, 1938 and died September 11, 2013. 85 years of life and now his grave has been desecrated by Senate hopeful Bato. Let's take a closer look at Bato's poster.
Wow. It seems the city has spoken. Bacolod City chooses you Bato-chu!
When I first saw signs designating a public cemetery a "Comelec Common Poster Area" I thought it was a joke. Even Comelec spokesman James Jimenez thought it was a terribly unfunny photoshop on my part.
Sadly these signs are not a joke. Even sadder is that the various campaigns have taken these signs seriously and hung up their posters all over the Granada Public Cemetery.
Here is video footage to verify this is not a photoshop.
Two more "Comelec Common Poster Area" signs are also hanging in front of the barangay hall.
That anyone involved in campaigning has taken these signs seriously just goes to show they do not even know the Comelec's rules about where posters may not be hung.
Section 7. Prohibited Forms of Election Propaganda. - During the campaign period it is unlawful:
f. To post, display or exhibit any election campaign or propaganda material outside of authorised common poster areas, in public places, or in private properties without the consent of the owner thereof.
Public places include any of the following:
5. Schools, public shrines, barangay halls, government offices, health centres, public structures and buildings of any edifice thereof.
The printing press, printer, or publisher who prints reproduces or publishes said campaign material, and the broadcaster , station manager, owner of the radio or televisions station, or owner or administrator of any website who airs or shows the political advertisements without the required data or in violation of these rules shall be criminally liable with the candidate and, if applicable, further suffer the penalties of suspension or revocation of franchise or permit in accordance with the law.
Nothing in these rules shall be construed as limiting the author of the appropriate agencies and instrumentalities of the government to promulgate their own rules and regulations, regarding the posting of political print advertising on any regulated land, sea and air vehicle, including but not limited to public utility vehicles and tricycles.
Campaign posters cannot be displayed or exhibited at barangay halls or public shrines and yet someone has hung huge signs in front of the barangay hall and the public cemetery designating these places as "Comelec Common Poster Areas." Admittedly the Comelec rules do not explicitly prohibit the hanging of campaign materials in a public cemetery. But surely that would fall under public shrines? Every November 1st the whole nation pours into the cemeteries to honour the dead. What kind of person would dare desecrate a cemetery in such a way? Does everything need to be explicitly spelled out?
In our brief Twitter exchange Comelec spokesman James Jimenez asked for the location of these banners and assured me he would send someone to check on this situation. That tweet is not available anymore. He must have deleted it. Nevertheless I was under the impression he would send someone to see just what is happening in Brgy. Granada. That was February 16th.
I have no idea if he has sent anyone nor do I have any idea if he knows who put up these "Comelec Common Poster Area" signs in areas prohibited by Comelec rules but I know who did and now I will tell you.
Alfredo Talimodao, Jr the Punong Barangay. He is the individual who placed the Comelec signs at both the cemetery and in front of the barangay hall. He did it so people would hang up their posters in one spot and not all over the place. Of course posters are still being hung all over the place. Take a look at this mess right in front of the cemetery:
It looks like someone's wash hanging out to dry! Is this even necessary? Does this display endear you to and make you want to vote for those candidates? Of course not. But there it is.
Unbelievably Alfredo Talimodao is apparently unaware that the Comelec forbids campaign materials to be posted at barangay halls and public shrines. He actually denied that this is the case.
Now you are probably wondering how I know for a 100% sure fact that the Barangay Captain is the culprit. Well I can't tell you that. I'm sorry. I know how politics works here and I don't want to be visited unexpectedly by unwanted guests. All I can tell you is that I know this to be true with the utmost certainty. One thing I don't know is why he chose the cemetery to be a poster area. The barangay hall I understand but the cemetery? It's a scared place of rest for the dead and now this tomb of a husband and wife is covered in pictures of Duterte, Bong Go, Bato, and Tolentino.
Rest in peace Ernesto Carillo Moises, Sr. and Adoracion T. Moises.
What would the families and friends of this couple think if they knew this tomb was being desecrated all at the instigation of the Punong Barangay?
It's election season and candidates are required to post campaign banners in Comelec designated zones. Like this public cemetery.
Pretty spooky! This must be a joke but who can tell? Perhaps if you hang up a poster in any of these three areas you will become cursed and visited by three motorcycle riding assassins?
What do you do when you live in a society where life is cheap and you are surrounded by death? You make light of it of course. Turn it into a joke. Like this:
This coffin photo-op is all a part of the Undas celebration. Keep in mind that when you and your family members finally die you and they are still family. In the Philippines Family Is Forever!
Whatever the occasion in the Philippines there is always food to be had. Be it a town fiesta or the death of a loved one. After lowering the casket and saying the last words it's snack time! Not meal time back at the church or elsewhere. Snack time right then and there at the cemetery.
That means juice boxes or small soda bottles and sandwiches wrapped in plastic. Being the careless people they are Filipinos toss the empty cartons and wrappers wherever they please with no regard to the environment or the sanctity of the dead.
They might as well toss their trash in Lolo's grave. It wouldn't be any less despicable.
This video is from the Manila Bulletin's Facebook page and I am uploading it for a wider circulation. The video is described as:
CCTV footage shows an old man getting hit by an SUV at M. Lozada St. cor Dalia St. Sto Rosario Pateros (Sto. Rosario Subdivision). Onlookers left the body of the old man on the road. (Video courtesy: Steve Armstrong)
The video is absolutely strange. An old man is standing in the middle of the road with his hand on his chest and head drooped over like he is either asleep or having a heart attack. When a vehicle approaches he barely shuffles off to the side as if he is hardly aware of what is happening. Then the SUV pushes him, knocks him down, and runs right over him without hesitation. The old man drops like a sack as if he is not even in his body and does not even offer a struggle against the force overtaking him.
And then what happens? Everyone congregates around the body to stare and then they just walk away. No one even bothers to put up a barrier to protect the body. No one attempts to move the body (which they should not have done anyway). Do they call for help? If they did no one bothers to protects the man's body until help arrives and another car drives right past it as if it is a sack of garbage.
Ladies and gentlemen this is life in the Philippines.
A British national was arrested on Saturday for allegedly refusing to pay for his bill at a bar in Barangay Poblacion, Makati City, and threatening the bar’s representative.
According to the Makati City Police Station, Pedro Guevarra Jr. of Horizon Bar said the suspect, Sukhjinder Singth Atwal, refused to pay for his bill amounting to P3,000.
A British national named Sukhjinder Singth Atwal?? Britain sure is changing! In fact Sukhjinder is also a good German, French, or Swedish name these days.
The victim, Robert Macrae, according to initial information gathered by the police, was an engineer living with his Filipino girlfriend in the town of Indang in Cavite province.
Balete police chief Sr. Inspector Nepthali Solomon in a phone interview said Macrae and his girlfriend were in Balete to attend a birthday party.
He said Macrae was “drunk” when he took a dip in the lake somewhere in Barangay (village) Sala around 8 a.m.
A 70-year old American national was found dead inside his car at past 4:00 a.m. in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City.
The victim was identified as Salvatore Peter La Barbera, a businessman, who sustained a gunshot wound in his head.
Initial police investigation showed that the foreigner ended his life by inserting the muzzle of a .45 caliber pistol to his mouth.
Authorities also found cash worth almost P500,000, documents and assorted ATM cards under the victim’s name.
What a poorly written article. That bolded part should read "the foreigner ended his life by inserting the muzzle of a .45 caliber pistol to his mouth and pulling the trigger which splattered his brains all over the windshield of his car and caused blood to run like a river form his nostrils just like noted suicide Bud Dwyer who shot himself on live TV and who's suicide video you can watch here." Why leave out all of the gory details?
P500,000? Documents and assorted ATM cards? Sounds very suspicious. Maybe he withdrew all the money so his wife or girlfriend would have some after he killed himself. But to withdraw P500,000 he would have to have 25 ATM cards. Perhaps he had money already with him. Perhaps he had been saving up for a few months and this suicide was planned long ago. Maybe he was sick. He is dead now.
So that's a body count of one British national and one American and another British national in jail and all these men are at fault for their predicaments. Is there a lesson? Not really. Just be safe and courteous.
Everyone talks about living in the Philippines. Who cares? Let's talk about dying in the Philippines.
It's gonna happen.
You can't stop it.
Only a matter of time. It might be a heart attack. It could be a chicken bone caught in your throat. Maybe a car cash. Or you could be out on your morning jog minding your business planning your day and enjoying the cool stillness when two unknown assailants ride up on a motorcycle and gun you down, sending you off into The Great Beyond.
After your soul separates from your flesh and flies off to the Great Judgement Throne the mourners will come. They will place your body in a casket and display it in the living room for all to see. The sounds of weeping and moaning and crying and chewing and swallowing will fill the air as they eat a big meal of rice and chicken and lumpia and pork belly and gaze upon your perfectly made-up corpse which no longer resembles you but looks more like a lifeless mannequin. A few might even pour one out for you before they pour one down their throats.
There might be pictures of you surrounded by candles and flowers while kneeling supplicants recite the Rosary or silently mumble the Our Father. They might even pray to you to pray for them! Depends on their religion.
You won't care because you will be dead. But you know this will happen because you have seen it. You have seen the family reunion when a grandfather's third cousin's son's wife has passed into eternity. "Who is this person?", you may have wondered but there are others who, alas, knew her.
You have seen the long train of slow jeepney's and vans holding up traffic as they make their way to the cemetery. Now you will be the cause of someone's delay.
Even in death you are nothing but trouble. Especially if no one has thought far ahead enough to provide for your burial. Did you have money set aside so your family can dispose of your corpse? If not don't worry because everyone will be compelled to hand over a little cash to aid the bereaved.
Off you go to be buried. Will you be lifted up into a concrete box in the air?
Or will you be lowered down into a concrete box in the ground?
And after the casket containing your ghastly remains is out of sight the mourners will eat some more. Probably your funeral will be the cause of a huge pile of trash left behind at the cemetery.
Don't worry. (As if you can!) Someone will clean it up and there will be no trace this pile of rubbish ever existed. Just like someone covered up your coffin after they lowered it into the ground leaving no trace of your existence except a raised plot of earth and a tombstone.
But it's not over yet. Your grave will have to be maintained in loving memory. Can't let your final resting place get all weedy. It just wouldn't do.
Looks nice doesn't it? What do you care? It's not for you. It's for your relatives who will come and party over your final resting place every November 1st. It is rather admirable though. A little raised plot surrounded with a tiny hedge and a little garden around your tombstone. Very quaint. Your family might come and do this very thing with their own hands. Otherwise:
You cannot escape yourself. Everywhere you go, there you are. Some people who move to the Philippines thinking to get away from the hassle and stress of the West do not realise that it is they who are the source of all the hassle and they will only bring their problems with them.
One such man was Richard Alexander Harbich.
A German man with many complications back home, in 2014 he ran away to the Philippines to meet a woman he met online. He returned to Germany in early 2015 and came back to the Philippines a few months later. I will not give a biography of this man. I will only say that all the media reports of him being duped by a woman are incorrect.
The fact is he was beset by serious financial and psychological troubles which he could not handle and he thought that he could outrun them by moving to the Philippines. As with many he thought that the Philippines was a paradise where everything would be so much easier, where he could start a new life and the past would simply vanish. But he caught up with himself and on March 3rd, 2016, in a final desperate act, he jumped from the third floor balcony of a mall and killed himself.
Apparently broken-hearted and broke at the same time, his frustration could have prompted him to end his own life, said Senior Inspector Richard Fajarito, chief of Police Station 1.
The 40-year-old native of Friedberg, Germany, first attempted to jump from the same location on Wednesday evening, but mall tenants stopped him.
Around 3 p.m. Thursday, Harbich was seen roaming alone inside SM City Bacolod. Moments later, he went to the third floor of the mall’s Annex Building and jumped.
Mall goer Bea Fernandez, 40, of Barangay 16, said she was standing near the foreigner, but she failed to stop him because she was holding her three-year-old daughter.
She said she saw Harbich climb up the railing and eventually fall to the ground floor.
Fernandez added that she asked for assistance from a security guard.
Harbich sustained serious injuries and died upon reaching Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital.
Do not make the mistake of thinking the Philippines is a paradise on earth. There is no paradise on earth. Wherever you go you will bring your own fears and pathologies and issues. You cannot escape yourself and in a foreign country any troubles you have will only be exacerbated.
Do not make the mistake so many have made and think that running away from your problems will solve them. It could be that you are the problem. And you cannot escape from yourself.
