***Using my trusted 8x10 for this historic site.***

Cemeteries are the least visited places in contrast to other sightseeing places. They are not only final resting places for those who passed away; they are also historic sites and witnesses of history and can be sources of information about important events.

Burial practices with ceremonial rites were customary in the Philippines. So it was not a significant change to inter the dead Catholic members within sacred grounds while religious and civil personalities were buried within the church. Those who were refused burial were stigmatized as sinners unworthy of Christian burial, disgracing the family of the departed member. This practice continued until the 19th century.

The increase in the population of townships prompted officials to construct gravesites apart from the city centers. This ensured better sanitation of the disposal of the dead bodies.

Three of the historic cemeteries in the Philippines are in Metro Manila, namely: Cementerio General de Paco, the Catholic Cemetery of La Loma, and the Manila North Cemetery.

These cemeteries were constructed primarily to handle the massive epidemics, especially the pest and the many corpses. The guarantee of sanitation and the population's health was a big concern, and adequately safeguarding the inhabitants of big cities was achieved.

Paco cemetery (now Paco Park) was built in the suburb of San Fernando de Dilao. The cemetery's construction began in 1814, but the cholera epidemic that wreaked havoc on the city prompted the use of the cemetery in 1820. TheCementerio General de Dilao became the resting place for Spaniards, indios, and mestizos from the different parishes adjacent to Manila, including Intramuros, Binondo, Quiapo, San Miguel, Sta. Cruz, Sampaloc, Tondo, Ermita and Malate. Paco Park, its niches empty and no longer used for burials, is now a tranquil, well-cultivated park. It has also become a venue for concerts and group exercises. The conversion of the cemetery into a beautiful national park ended in 1966, and it is now under the supervision of the National Parks Development Committee.

The national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, was interred in the cemetery immediately after his execution in Bagumbayan (now Luneta). He was buried between the inner and outer walls and his former burial site marked with his initials in reverse R.P.J (Rizal Protacio Jose). The bodies of the Gomburza, the three martyred priests, were also buried in the historic Paco Cemetery.