The cemetery, constructed in 1936, is now home to families who have built shelters on top of existing graves.
In yesterday's public hearing, Lorega San Miguel barangay captain Fortunato Parawan said that the council reportedly agreed unanimously for a "conditional yes", provided that no environmental and sanitation laws will be violated.
Councilor Nestor Archival, chairman of the committee on housing, said the public hearing was conducted after members of the United Cemetery Side Residents Association requested the city for the conversion of the cemetery into a housing project for its members.
Archival also said that there are 551 tombs in the cemetery based on the actual count conducted by the Division of Welfare and Urban Poor Development. But inside the cemetery, some 291 structures can be found. Ninety-one of these have tombs as part of the structures.
The cemetery has an area of 20,000 square meters. According to Archival, 9,000 square meters will be used for the socialized housing program. The remaining lot will be for the dead.
Archival cited that Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, provides to underprivileged and homeless citizens access to land and housing, among others.
"The members of the requesting organization may qualify to avail of the city's socialized housing program considering that they are poor and homeless. However, that the site requested for belongs to a cemetery must be taken into account," Archival said.
The City Health Department, in its letter to the DWUP dated August 4, 2005, said the conversion has significant implications in relation to the provisions of the Sanitation Code of the Philippines particularly on the closure or removal of existing cemeteries.
"The exhumation and transfer permits are required and relatives of the deceased persons must be properly notified," Archival said as he reads the letter of the city health department.
Members of the United Cemetery Side Residents Association, during the public hearing, said that it would be advantageous if the area will be converted into socialized housing, and instead have the tombs transferred to the Roman Catholic Carreta Cemetery, which is adjacent to Lorega.
"Maayo tingali ato nalang atimanon ang mga buhi kay sa mga patay. Dapat ipahiluna nalang ang mga buhi kay sa patay," a member said.
But Vice Mayor Michael Rama, the presiding officer, said that the city council cannot immediately take action on the request of the association, citing that the matter will still be under the study of council members. - Garry B. Lao