Loyola Memorial Park – Marikina | |
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Details | |
Established | 1964 |
Location | |
Country | Philippines |
Coordinates | 14°38′18″N 121°05′11″E / 14.63833°N 121.08639°E |
Owned by | Group Developers, Inc. |
Size | 38,000 m2 (410,000 sq ft) |
No. of graves | 60,000 (2019) |
The Loyola Memorial Park is a cemetery and columbarium in Marikina, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1964, and was developed by Group Developers, Inc.,[1] which operates a second Loyola Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque.[2] The Marikina park covers an area of 38,000 square meters (410,000 sq ft) with 60,000 burials as of 2019.[3]
The Loyola Memorial Park hosts the "The Redemption 1974" by Eduardo Castrillo (a set of 13 massive cut and welded brass figures, 800 square meters, locally known as Last Supper of Jesus Christ monument which marks the complex's columbarium. The Bulaklak ng Pakikiramay (Flowers of Condolences) is an area within the park which is dedicated to Marikina City Police officers who have died.[4]
On February 8, 2011, Loyola Memorial Park was the site of the suicide[9] of General Angelo Reyes, who served as Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff and later as secretary of National Defense, DILG, DENR, and Department of Energy. Fronting his parents' graves, the retired general and politician shot himself with a .45 caliber pistol and slumped on his mother's marker; he was rushed to Quirino Memorial Medical Center and was declared dead on arrival. The incident happened in the midst of corruption investigations against Reyes on account of the "monetary gift scheme" (known in the Filipino language as "pabaon") in the Armed Forces wherein he received a cash gift, known as send-off money, amounting to PHP50 million, which was said to have been acquired through malpractices. A groundskeeper employed by the cemetery was on a morning shift that day, working as a gardener when he witnessed the incident; he later testified that he overheard Reyes' last words, "I'm Sorry", before the gunfire.