No bone chamber yet for exhumed remains of the dead
-A A +AFriday, November 2, 2012
AT THE old cemetery in Barangay Lorega, Cebu City, caretakers worry for the soul of some 300 departed, saying they may still not be at peace to this day.
Placed inside plastic sacks and stacked inside a room, the remains that used to be buried at the old Lorega-San Miguel cemetery still have not been transferred to a decent resting place two years after these were exhumed to make way for the construction of a medium-rise condominium project.
The bone chamber where the remains were supposed to be transferred has yet to be constructed. It was scheduled to be built in 2010.
Mayor Michael Rama said he will check on the matter, adding that the socialized housing project inside the old cemetery was not funded by City Hall.
The three-story residential building inside the Lorega cemetery, which was completed early this year, was funded by the Priority Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf) of Rep. Rachel del Mar (Cebu City, north district), but the site was developed by the City.
The P13-million project houses some 60 families that used to squat on the cemetery, some of whom built their houses on top of tombs.
Arsenio Quizon, the caretaker of the old cemetery, appealed to the City to build the bone chamber soon.
He said he feels sorry for the dead.
Arsenio’s wife, Judith, said the bone chamber needs to be built so the dead can rest in peace.
At present, the bones are placed in sacks stored in a room that was previously used as a daycare center.
Sometimes we would hear sounds, like somebody is upset, but we know there is no one there. They are not in peace, she said in Cebuano.
In earlier interviews, Councilor Alvin Dizon said P1 million was included in the City’s second supplemental budget in 2011 to build the bone chamber.
He said its design has been completed and that the Department of Engineering and Public Works has worked on the program of works and estimates.
Sun.Star Cebu tried to get updates on the project from Dizon but he could not be reached for comment.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 02, 2012.
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