THE Cagayan de Oro City Government has tapped an engineer to head the City Cemetery and Memorial Park Board, the newly created body of stakeholders tasked for the rehabilitation of the Public Cemetery in Bolonsiri, Camaman-an.

Engineer Al Brito was appointed as the chairman of the board in line with Mayor Oscar Moreno's vision to include the private sector in the planning.

City Councilor Edgar Cabanlas was appointed as vice chairman.

Cabanlas said one of the priorities is the relocation of families living inside the cemetery who will be affected by the rehabilitation.

According to Sol Mosqueda, focal person of the City Memorial Park Development, 300 houses were illegally built inside the 19-hectare public cemetery.

Cabanlas said they are still conducting inventory to identify the exact number of families that will be displaced.

He said that one of the board's options is to relocate the families to another area. He added that a more attainable option is to move them in a vacant space outside the cemetery instead of the transfer.

"Depende pa kay gitun-an pa, puwede permanent kon makaya (All of this are still being studies. If possible, we want to relocate them in a permanent location)," he added.

The Memorial Park Board also consists of Barangay Camaman-an chair Pedro Arda; Evangeline Tapangan, City Civil Registrar; Ramir Balquin of City Planning and Development Office; Oliver Egypto of Office of Community Affairs; Adrian Suba-an of the Department of Health Northern Mindanao; Reynaldo Digamo of the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Mohammad Gondarangin of the Muslim Association of Cagayan de Oro; Abdul Nasser Masorong, Commission on Muslim Affairs Northern Mindanao; Monsignor Perseus Cabunoc of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro; Engineer Benjamin Nunag Jr. and Adolph Vincent Vigor from the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP); and the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office.

The City Cemetery Development Board also tapped the USTP for the new design of the City Memorial Park. The board will also ensure that the cemetery would comply to environmental standards.