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Saturday, June 24, 2006
Close cemetery ‘if people will live there’
A division of the Cebu City Health Department has declared the Barangay Lorega public cemetery an unhealthy area, citing poor sanitation and hygiene.
And since there are now more than 300 families living inside the cemetery, City Health’s sanitation and inspection division recommends the closure of the cemetery if City Hall decides to award a portion of the lot to the residents.
Isaac Deiparine, the division’s acting supervisor, said they are not against the proposal to convert a portion of the cemetery into a socialized housing site. But, she said, City Hall has to consider the health hazards involved.
Their recommendations, however, are not final yet. These are still subject to the approval of the City Health Department head and the Department of Health regional office.
“If a portion of the cemetery will become a housing site, then we would recommend the complete closure of the cemetery and the removal of the cadavers because the 25-meter buffer zone requirement is not being complied with anymore,” Deiparine told Sun.Star Cebu.
The construction of houses inside the cemetery violates City Ordinance No. 676, which states that no residential or commercial structure should stand within 25 meters from the boundary of a cemetery.
“There is a danger that people will get sick because there could be water contamination in the cemetery, especially that the community there relies on pipe water supply,” Deiparine added.
Outbreak
In 2002, an outbreak of diarrhea in the cemtery was reported but barangay officials could not say if it had anything to do with their environment.
Some 330 families who built illegal structures beside or on top of tombs inside the 23,000-square-meter cemetery are asking the City Government to convert 9,000 square meters into a socialized housing site.
The City Council put on hold deliberations until the City Health Department submits a final report on the matter.
They are also awaiting the comments of families who have relatives buried in the cemetery, as well as comments from the Archdiocese of Cebu.
Among other things, the inspection team noted rodent and vermin infestation at the cemetery, the scarcity of potable water and flooding in the area.
The team also noted untidy surroundings because of garbage and the muddy ground. Urban poor families also have to put up with the stench there, the inspection team observed.
“The place really poses a very unhealthy living condition to the people,” Deiparine said.
The Environmental Sanitation Division of City Health completed last June 15 the report on the findings of their sanitation inspection and their recommendations.
If the City approves the proposal, the division recommended that the City or Lorega barangay officials inform the relatives of all those buried in the cemetery.
Exhumation
They also require that the relatives secure permits from their office before they exhume the cadavers, and for the City to secure clearance from the DOH before they convert the cemetery into a housing site.
Deiparine said that if the City undertakes any water supply project inside the cemetery, it should be under the control and supervision of City Health to ensure there will be no contamination. (LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 24, 2006 issue)
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