Today: Philippines Marks All Saints Day as Marcos Urges Devotion to Others and Archbishop Warns Against Halloween

Before the heat of the day arrived on Sunday, Filipinos were already on the road to the cemeteries. GMA News reported that many people across the country went early to visit departed loved ones on All Saints Day, and foot traffic at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange had reached 39,229 by 8 a.m.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. joined Filipino Catholics and the rest of the country in observing All Saints Day, known as Undas, on November 1, and All Souls Day on November 2. In his message on Sunday, he called on the public to extend the same devotion they show in remembering their late loved ones to the way they treat other people.

“I invite everyone to practice the same devotion we show in remembrance into the way we treat one another,” Marcos said, according to GMA News. “If we can make time to revere those who have passed, we can also make room to listen to those who struggle, and let that same concern guide our society and the work of government.”

The president said the faithful should draw inspiration from the selflessness of the saints. “We also draw inspiration from the saints, whose devotion found expression in selfless service, and from countless individuals whose sacrifices have sustained our communities,” he said.

Their lives, he added, call people to make the most of the time entrusted to them, and to find lasting purpose in every kindness given and every burden helped to carry for others. He also spoke of a Bagong Pilipinas, or New Philippines, built through such efforts rather than through words or monuments carved in stone.

November 1 and 2 were declared special non-working holidays, GMA News reported. Marcos said earlier that the goverment was making the necessary preparations to ensure a safe and orderly trip for Filipinos heading to their provinces or travelling elsewhere for this year’s Undas.

Archbishop Bendico: Teach Children What Is Holy

In Capiz, Archbishop Victor Bendico marked the feast with a pastoral letter that spoke directly to parents. He urged Catholic families to teach children the true meaning of All Saints Day, and warned against Halloween celebrations that glorify evil, violence and occult practices, the Daily Tribune reported.

“Dear brothers and sisters, let us teach our children to admire what is holy, not to glorify what is evil,” Bendico said in the letter. “Let us celebrate saints, imitate their virtues, and choose the light of Christ,” he added.

The archbishop called on the faithful to rediscover the religious significance of All Saints Day as Halloween-themed activities grow more popular, particularly among children and young people. He acknowledged that many Halloween celebrations are intended as harmless recreation.

His concern, he said, was with activities that portray evil in a favourable light. “Some celebrations deliberately glamorize demonic figures, occult practices, cruelty, or violence,” Bendico said. “These images can confuse children about the seriousness of evil and obscure the Christian meaning of these sacred days.”

Bendico explained that All Saints Day originated in the early Church’s tradition of honouring martyrs. It has since become a celebration of all those who attained holiness, he said, recognising not only canonised saints but also ordinary believers whose lives reflected Christian faith and virtue.

Undas 2026: Cemeteries Fill Early in Manila

The scale of the movement on Sunday morning showed in the transport figures alone. Light traffic was reported on the North Luzon Expressway and the South Luzon Expressway on Sunday morning, GMA News reported in its live Undas updates, while tens of thousands passed through the Parañaque terminal.

At Manila North Cemetery, described by GMA News as the biggest cemetery in the country, management decided to stop its free rides on Sunday amid the heavy influx of visitors. The decision was a small detail, but it told the story of the day: too many people arriving, too fast, for the usual arrangements to hold.

The two messages of the day sat side by side in the crowds. One was a president asking a nation to carry its devotion for the dead into daily kindness. The other was an archbishop asking parents to guard the meaning of the feast for the next generation.

Both were, in their own way, about what people choose to honour.

Readers following faith and community life on feast days can see related coverage in Catholic Mass returning to Fort Myers Beach on All Saints Day, in the Church of Scotland day of prayer on October 31, and in Pope Leo XIV meeting earthquake survivors in Italy.

What All Saints Day Means After the Candles Burn Down

Marcos closed his message with the bonds that loss leaves behind. “Even in their absence, those who have lost continue to bring us closer together, keeping alive the bonds that have made the Filipino family and all the whole nation resilient and strong through challenges,” he said.

That is the question Undas leaves for Monday, when All Souls Day turns attention to all the faithful departed. The flowers will fade and the candles will burn down, and the test of both messages will be quieter than a cemetery crowd: whether devotion shown at a grave becomes patience shown to a neighbour, and whether a child remembers the saints long after the costumes are put away.

What happens in homes and parishes in the days after November 2 will show which message took hold. The crowds have already shown up. The harder part, both the president and the archbishop suggested in different words, starts when everyone goes home.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.