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Thursday, May 25, 2006
300 families in Lorega want part of cemetery turned to housing site
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Some 300 families occupying illegal structures inside the cemetery in Barangay Lorega are asking the Cebu City Government to convert a portion of the cemetery into a socialized housing site.
But even before a public hearing could be held, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he is not inclined to approve the request.
“I can’t decide on that until all sides have spoken but probably not. I’m not inclined to go along with it, I’m afraid of the precedent we will set, then later on other cemeteries will have to be socialized housing areas,” he told a news conference yesterday.
Osmeña said there may also be health risks involved since there are still cadavers in some of the tombs where the structures were built.
“The cemetery is for the dead, not for the living. I don’t know if there are still health risks but, my God, who told them to move there? If they want to put themselves at risk willfully, wala ta’y mahimo,” the mayor added.
During their regular session yesterday, the City Council approved a public hearing on the matter on June 21.
P1.6 million
Members of the United Cemetery Side Residence Association, Inc. asked the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) to declare a portion of the cemetery in Lorega a socialized housing site.
If approved, the City will have to spend some P1.6 million for the project.
According to the records of DWUP, there are 291 illegal structures inside the cemetery.
Of the number, 91 have tombs underneath the house.
Sixty tombs still have cadavers while the other 31 are empty.
DWUP already sought the opinion of the City Health Department, the City Planning Office and the office of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
Lawyer Joel Ouano, legal counsel of the archdiocese, said the cardinal has no objections to the request “if the proposal would benefit the greatest number of people.”
The city planning officer and the city health officer did not render an opinion, with the latter saying that they are not in the position to do so.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 25, 2006 issue)
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