MASANTOL, Pampanga — Floodwaters that have remained in cemeteries here are yet expected to rise on Nov. 1 due to high tide.
The local government of Masantol is now preparing for the situation noting that high tide occurs in the morning and subsides in the afternoon, thereby urging the residents to visit cemeteries in the afternoon.
Mayor Dan Guinto said he has already issued an executive order for the implementation of traffic rerouting during Undas. Tents have also been erected in cemeteries to serve as a common area for those who will light candles and flowers who can no longer visit the tombs due to the flood.
The Holy Spirit Memorial Park, Eternal Peace, St. Michael Sta. Elena, and Masantol Public Cemetery are perennially flooded with some parts under three feet of water.
The Masantol LGU put up precautionary lanes in some parts of the cemeteries indicating that the water is deep in that area and may no longer accessible. By next year, it plans to install bamboos to be filled with soil that will serve as barrier around the cemeteries to prevent the tombs from sinking.
The only burial ground free from floods in the municipality is Lake View Memorial Park, a private memorial park where many have transferred the remains of their dearly departed.
