A PRIVATE cemetery in Davao City has gone viral on social media for the seemingly unprepared tomb for the burial of a 59-year-old.
Facebook user Doll Boniel Gonzales, the niece of the deceased, expressed her dismay on social media to the management of the private cemetery for its lackadaisical performance of its job in the preparation of the tomb for their deceased clients.
According to Gonzales, during a phone interview with Superbalita Davao Monday afternoon, August 8, they went to the private cemetery's office on the first day of the death of their uncle to inform the management that they are intending to avail the lot that they have already paid a long time ago.
She said they also paid another P30,000 for excavation, which the receipt and other pertinent documents are still with them, for the burial of their uncle on August 6, 2022, Saturday.
Gonzales narrated that after the requiem mass, they brought their dead loved one to the cemetery, but they were stopped at the gates as allegedly there was no scheduled burial on that day.
However, based on the record of the cemetery's office, there was a scheduled burial on that day but it was not relayed to the staff manning the entrance. This is the reason why the family of the deceased was blocked at the gates.
Gonzales said they were permitted to enter after several minutes but that they waited again for almost two hours because the cemetery's gravediggers were still digging using a small backhoe for the tomb.
During the burial, the family of the deceased was surprised when they heard a loud bang after a huge rock and lumps of earth were dumped into the grave.
"Dili siya tama, human unta sa pagsulod sa lungon didto sa semento naa man gyud na'y taklob nga semento, kadto wala nila gitakluban, gidiretso lang nila'g tabon og yuta human namo og hulog sa mga bulak (It wasn't right, (because) it should have been that after the coffin is laid down into the tomb, the tomb should have been closed first using a paved covering, but it was not closed. They immediately dumped earth after we dropped the flowers)," Gonzales said.
When the family complained, the cemetery's staff immediately took the damaged coffin and replaced it with a new one from a funeral parlor.
"Maayo nalang dali sab nga nakahatud og lungon ang usa ka funeral parlor, gibalhin dayon akong uncle, ug mga alas 5 na namo nahuman ang paglubong, pero naa nay tabon nga semento (It was just good that a funeral parlor delivered the new coffin fast, they immediately transferred my uncle to the new coffin, and around 5 p.m. we finished the burial and the tomb already has a covering)," Gonzales added.
After the burial, Gonzales admitted that they were approached by a representative from the cemetery's admin telling them their office is saddened by the incident.
Gonzales said all they wanted is for the cemetery to always be prepared, especially mentioning that it must ensure that tombs must always have coverings in place before the soil is dumped.
As of writing, the private cemetery has not yet responded to Superbalita's request for comments or reactions, and that the news outlet is open to their side of the incident should they reach out for their reactions through superbalitadavao@gmail.com.JPC