Lorega cemetery exhumation starts

CEBU, Philippines – The exhumation of 362 cadavers buried at the Lorega-San Miguel Public Cemetery will start tomorrow and is set to run for one month at most.

JJ and J Construction, the contractor for the site development of half the total land area occupied by the cemetery, has started taking pictures and marking tombs and niches that will be affected by the exhumation.

After the remains are exhumed, the tombs will be demolished to prepare the lot for the construction of the three-storey buildings with 60 unit capacity by early January next year or as soon as the clearing is finished.

While 362 cadavers are expected to be affected, this number may still lessen as some who were informed of the impending housing project in Lorega voluntarily disinterred the remains of their relatives to transfer to another cemetery.

The office of Councilor Alvin Dizon announced the date of the exhumation so the relatives of affected cadavers still have time to get the remains of their loved ones who had already passed away.

The exhumation and reburial permits from the City Health Department for the specific purpose are free of charge as authorized by a resolution Dizon passed in the council.

The cadavers buried five years ago and older will be sealed in heavy-duty poly-ethylene -a type of special plastic- before being put in a temporary bone chamber constructed within the cemetery.

Cadavers buried less than five years ago will be transferred to a vacant slot in the portion that will not be developed yet.

Tanny Go of Gawad Kalinga said that they have completed the requirements already from the CHD, the Department of Health, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice.

GK will be in charge of the construction of the main building.

The project will cost around P14 million to P15 million, Go said. Some P10 million will come from the Priority Development Assistance Fund of former Congressman Raul del Mar, P2 million will come from the Action for Nurturing Children and Environment (ANCE) while the remaining is still being solicited from other interested groups.

Beneficiaries of the project shall come from the United Cemetery Side Residence Association Inc. UCSRA is the group of residents who built their houses and lived in the cemetery.

The first 60 families to benefit from the project will be identified by GK and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

But Go assured that all 400 plus members of the UCSRA will be accommodated as they will build seven other three-storey buildings for the rest.

He said that a lot of their partners have started expressing interest to sponsor the construction of other buildings.

Once the construction of the building starts, beneficiaries may count five to six months for the completion of the project.

The families who will occupy the units shall pay the city a monthly rental. The Local Housing Board however has not finalized yet how much the people will have to pay.

But Dizon said that the housing board is not keen on the rent-to-own scheme because their monthly rental will increase that they may not afford to pay the city. He said that the units are available to families under perpetual lease. (FREEMAN)