THE City Government of Cagayan de Oro is set to build a columbarium with over 10,000 vaults where the remains of the dead will be placed to clear the 10-hectare city public cemetery in Bolonsiri, Camaman-an.
Engineer Armen Cuenca, chief of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (Clenro), said some 12,000 vaults will be built in the colombarium, the public storage of cinerary urns or bones of the dead.
The 12,000 niches will be enough for the persons buried in the phase 1 and 2 of the cemetery.
The columbarium is expected to be completed on the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2020.
According to the initial development plan, the city will also build a separate 4-story building to accommodate those who will be buried as the construction progresses.
But those who will be buried upon the completion of the building will have to sign a contract which states that their loved one will be transferred to the columbarium after 5 to 10 years to use the space for another deceased person.
“Ang design nato maka-save na ug space kay ang ma occupy ra sa vaults sa columbarium is 1/2 square meter compared sa lubnganan nga 2.5 by 1 meter ang ma-occupy,” he said.
Cuenca said families can avail exhumation services from the cooperative formed by the city government to help manage the development.
The exhumation can cost a minimum of P2,000, he said.
Some 200 residents attended the public consultation Tuesday led by the City Cemetery and Memorial Park Board to answer questions of the cemetery development.
“Successful ang consultation, ang tanang kabalaka natubag ug nahupay, ug we are also planning to conduct another round of consultation to inform all the residents of this development,” he said.