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And then we go to Taguig, where Libingan ng mga Bayani and Heritage Park is located. Heritage Park, as we all know, is where Rudy, 'Daboy' Fernandez was laid to rest. He died in in June 2008, leaving many shocked and unprepared.

In Libingan ng mga Bayani are three revered National Artists: Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 - April 2, 2002), the music great who made a musical instrument out of a leaf; Nick Joaquin (May 4, 1917 - April 29, 2004), the San Miguel Beer-loving writer who wrote old high school favorites The Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino and The Summer Solstice; and Ang Kiukok (March 1, 1931 - May 9, 2005) who painted angry and often gruesome subjects. We salute them.

Their graves are all tended by the 74-year-old Pedro Loniza, who was personally appointed by President GMA to take care of her father's grave. "Gusto ko talaga [alagaan ang mga puntod nila]. Inaalagaan ko rin ang mga libingan ng mga dating presidente." He says that between noon and dusk, he would see a few spirits walking. "Ito kasing Libingan ng mga Bayani, siyudad ng mga kaluluwa. Dito nila lahat gusto pumunta dahil tahimik."

And lastly, we head down south to Sucat where the Manila Memorial Park is located. Here lie the Aquinos, Ninoy (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) and Cory (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009). You might think that with the magnitude of this couple’s heroism, they would be buried in a golden mausoleum, elevated from the rest of humanity.

But Ninoy and Cory rest in a place as simple as the lives they led, with the ubiquitous yellow ribbon tied around one of its pillars. In leiu of an epitaph, a sheet of paper left under the tombstones by kids from a pre-school says it all: “Thank you for restoring our democracy.”

The Aquinos’ caretaker: Malyn Marasigan, admits that with the volume of visitors—their graves have become a part of educational tours and students' field trips—taking care of their graves become quite difficult. "May mga nagsusulat ng mensahe nila sa lapida. May mga nagpi-picnic pa, nagpapapicture sa taas ng nitso," Malyn relates.

After all the flowers have wilted and the eulogies have been said, they are a select few who stay to make sure that our icons rest easy under perfectly manicured bermuda grass and graffiti-free tombstones. They got stories to tell, the biggest one, of course, remains in the appearance of our heroes graves.