City donates Kalunasan lot for cemetery

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña and the leaders of different religious groups in Cebu City signed yesterday the deed of donation for the four-hectare city-owned lot in Barangay Kalunasan to be converted into a cemetery to cater to people from all religions.

Rev. Romeo T. Borado signed the deed of donation on behalf of the Evangelical Christian Coalition of Cebu, Incorporated, which is composed of various religious groups.

Councilor Richard “Ritchie” Osmeña, who facilitated the documentation of the project, said that donation of the 42,687 square-meter of land to the coalition of religious groups has already been approved by the Cebu City Council.

The lot that is intended for the inter-faith cemetery is located within the so-called Don Sergio Osmeña shrine in Barangay Kalunasan.

It was clearly stated in the deed that the donated property should only be used for cemetery, otherwise the property will be taken back by the donor.

The representatives of the various religious groups who attended the signing of the deed at the mayor’s conference room yesterday assured the mayor that they will comply with all the provisions of the agreement.

Osmeña said the different religious group will be allowed to put up their cemetery in that donated property.

According to the mayor, “while in a democracy, the basic principle is majority rules but the minority has also rights” that is why he attends to the needs of the religious sectors.

In 2004, the City of Cebu also donated two hectares of land in Barangay Guba for the establishment of the first Muslim cemetery in the country outside Mindanao.

The decision was initially blocked by the residents of Guba who expressed fear that the establishment of a cemetery in their place might contaminate the source of their drinking water.

But the issue was threshed out after the Office on Muslim Affairs-Central Visayas made several outreach activities aimed to strengthen their relations with the people of the place. — THE FREEMAN