Manila South Cemetery Explained

Manila South Cemetery
Map Type:	Philippines City of Manila
Established:	1925
Country:	Philippines
Location:	Manila, Metro Manila
Coordinates:	14.5656°N 121.0192°W
Type:	Public
Owner:	Manila City Government
Size:	25ha
Graves:	750,000+

The Manila South Cemetery is a cemetery in Metro Manila. It is an exclave of San Andres, Manila surrounded by land under the jurisdiction of the city of Makati.^[1]

History

The land which the cemetery occupies was previously part of the Hacienda San Pedro de Macati which was owned by the Zóbel de Ayala family.^{[2] [3]} The land was then under the province of Rizal. The South Cemetery was legally acquired by Ordinance 726 and other actions taken by the Jacobo Zobel et al. vs. City of Manila (1925).^[4] The cemetery, occupying an area of 25ha,^[1] has a maximum capacity of 371,490 graves. As of June 30, 2007, 266,170 burials were made in the cemetery. There were an estimated 753,186 burials as of July 2018.^[5]

On All Saints' Day 2015, a record 32,000 people visited the cemetery.^[1]

The Manila City Government under Mayor Isko Moreno in 2020 passed Ordinance No. 8608 allotting 2400sqm within the Manila South Cemetery for the establishment of the Manila Muslim Cemetery.^[6] The groundbreaking ceremony for the Muslim cemetery was held on July 22, 2020.^[7] The cemetery was inaugurated as the Manila Islamic Cemetery on June 7, 2021.^[8]

Notable burials

• Ramon Bagatsing (1916–2006), longest serving Mayor of Manila, survivor of the Plaza Miranda bombing
• Leon Guinto (1886–1962), Mayor of Manila during World War II, Governor of Quezon
• Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956), former president of the Philippines (reinterred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016)^[9]
• Espiridiona Bonifacio (1875–1956), nationalist, revolutionary, and sister of Andrés Bonifacio
• Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (1918–2008), composer, music educator, and National Artist for Music
• Lope K. Santos (1879–1963), novelist, linguist, and grammarian of the Filipino language
• Paraluman (1923–2009), actress of the 1950s (reinterred at the St. Therese Columbary)
• Danilo Lacuna (1938–2023), former Vice Mayor of Manila and founder of Asenso Manileño

See also

• La Loma Cemetery
• Manila Chinese Cemetery
• Libingan ng mga Bayani
• Manila North Cemetery
• Scouting memorials

Notes and References

1. News: In the Know: Manila South Cemetery. August 28, 2017. Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 2, 2016.
2. News: Gomez. Buddy. The man who saved Makati in 1943. August 28, 2017. ABS-CBN News. February 10, 2016.
3. News: Tan. Miguel. Mora. MG. Cemetery trivia: How well do you know our burial grounds?. August 28, 2017. Rappler. November 1, 2013.
4. GR. L-22201. Jacobo Zobel, et al. vs. the City of Manila . January 12, 1925 . November 30, 2011 . The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation, Inc..
5. Web site: Manila South Cemetery. City of Manila . https://web.archive.org/web/20180730042156/http://manila.gov.ph/services/south-cemetery/ . July 30, 2018.
6. News: Manila approves construction of Muslim cemetery . April 19, 2020 . CNN Philippines . March 3, 2020.
7. News: Valenzuela . Nikka . Manila breaks ground for first Muslim cemetery . July 23, 2020 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . July 22, 2020.
8. News: Mendoza . John Eric . Manila opens Islamic cemetery, cultural hall inside public cemetery . June 25, 2021 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . June 7, 2021 . en.
9. News: After 60 years, President Quirino gets burial he deserves. Gamil. Jaymee. Dizon. Nikko. February 28, 2016. Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 28, 2019.