When The Devil Wins (Simeon Bernardo's Tomb)

Strange, isn't it?

In Tugatog Public Cemetery, Caloocan, there is a very special tomb. Instead of a cross, the tomb of Simeon Bernardo has a statue of the Devil triumphant over St. Michael Archangel.

Don Simeon Bernardo, the person buried over the inverted sculpture, born in 1869, told his children before he died to build the sculpture over his grave, as a reminder to the society that the evil has always been ruling our world and that there is no God. Simeon Bernardo lived during the Spanish era. He was a victim of cruelty by the catholic Spanish government. He was imprisoned and tortured after being accused as a filibuster. Since then, because of bitter and grudge, Simeon Bernardo never believed that God existed and before his death in 1934, his belief never changed that made him decided to ask his children to put the said sculpture over his tomb. 

According to the family of Simeon Bernardo, they will only reverse the sculpture and place the archangel on top of the demon once they see that our world transforms into a place where the good always rule against the evil and not the other way around.

Strange legends that go around the statue
Due to the strangeness of the statue, a lot of legends have sprung up. People often say that the statue is being guarded by a large, black dog every night. Another legend was that the statue was growing. I don’t know about the dog story, but the reason why the statue seems to grow was because the original statue was replaced. Since the original statue was destroyed by drug addicts in the late 70’s, a bigger statue replaced it and the whole thing was placed inside iron bars to protect it from stones being thrown by vandals and pious Christian believers. Speaking of being in a cage, rumors have it that the whole statue was placed inside a cage because every night, the demon flies away. Well… such an outrageous story, huh?

[Note: Also seen in Random Thoughts.]