The
Manila North Cemetery (or Cementerio del Norte formerly known also as "Paang Bundok"), which measures 54 hectares, is considered the biggest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila. Beside it are two other important cemeteries, namely the
La Loma Cemetery and the
Manila Chinese Cemetery. The cemetery is owned by the Manila city government and has initiated an expansion program to build more "apartment tombs" and a crematorium. The cemetery is also notable because of the numerous families living inside the more commodious mausoleums.
Grave Awards match fixing scandal of 2009
A Grave Award (commonly abbreviated as GA), is an award presented by the Manila North Cemetery to honor the best in grave plots. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Granny Awards (in the makeup category), the annual MNC Grave Awards ceremony has often been called the "Oscars for the departed", an acknowledgment of the GA ceremony's ability to draw millions of spectators, from children to senior citizens, each year. By 2001, the GA had become a coveted award. The statue given to winners resembles a gravedigger, one of the earliest representations of MNC.
The Grave Awards match fixing scandal took place around and during All Souls' Day in 2009. Three members of the north division were banned for life from joining for intentionally losing contests, which allowed the relatives of Protacio Marquez to win the GA that year. The conspiracy was the brainchild of north division leader Arnold "Boy Kalansay" Marquez, who had longstanding ties to petty underworld figures. He persuaded Joseph "Palakol" Monsalud, a friend and professional gambler, that the fix could be pulled off. Chinese Cemetery land grabber Boyet Ibasco supplied the money through his right-hand man Edgar Pacifico, a former barker along Aurora Blvd in
Quezon City.
Group plots
- American Association plot
- Armed Forces of the Philippines Cemetery
- Boy Scout Cenotaph (in memory of the 24 Boy Scouts who died in a plane crash en route to the 11th World Scout Jamboree
- Firemen's plot
- Jewish cemetery
- Masonic burial grounds
- Military and police plot
- Mousoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución
- Thomasites' plot
- Veterans of Foreign Wars plot (now neglected, since relatives all migrated to the USA)
