CEMETERY LIVES
MANILA, PH (2019)
Manila North Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Metro Manila, is the resting place of former presidents, musicians, and movie stars. It is also the home to several thousand living residents, many of whom have lived there for generations and share similar stories. They arrived in Manila, a city with a population of over 13 million, with big city dreams. But reality proved to be more challenging than anticipated. With the high cost of living making permanent housing difficult, residents were forced to look for other accommodations and Manila North Cemetery provided a quiet refuge in a bustling city. Many residents moved in and never left.
Peppered within the tombs of Manila North Cemetery is a city unto itself, built by living residents over the past 70 years. It has many of the same features one would see outside of the cemetery walls - convenience stores, eateries, basketball courts, and laundry drying on clotheslines. Water is brought in and distributed amongst residents and illegal wiretaps provide electricity to the hand built shelters. Once an electrical connection is found and removed by local authorities, another one seems to spring up. One resident even has a washer dryer and serves as the neighborhood dry cleaners. Dwellers of Manila North Cemetery have managed to build a micro-economy within the walls of the cemetery. Many are employed by families of the deceased to take care of their tombs. Others help manage funerals and carry coffins, some work as cemetery handymen and repair headstones.
In Metro Manila, where the divide of rich and poor is so extreme, many people are left on the fringes of society with few choices for housing. Residents say that the cemetery life provides refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounding them. As one resident put it, “It’s always quiet here.”