MANILA, Philippines — The wake of four bodies in Tondo, Manila almost became a cremation ceremony after a fire razed over 50 houses in an informal settler area on Tuesday. It's the same bayanihan spirit, depicted in rural areas when a "bahay-kubo" needs to be transferred, that saved the corpses. Only this time, residents of the Tondo community carried coffins, not wooden huts. "Tinawid namin lahat ng patay namin," Vanessa said, as she recounted seeing the men carry the coffins in true bayanihan style. Ronaldo Sarmiento, a father of two, had too many experiences with fire that has apparently razed the area three times since 2002.

Source: Philippine Star December 21, 2017 10:30 UTC