THEY say the dead rest in peace.
But in the New Corazon Cemetery in Barangay Sambag, Bogo City, peace has a price tag — P15,000 for a bone chamber good for five years, and P5,000 for every year after.
Those who can’t afford it, carry the exhumed remains of their loved ones beyond the concrete fence, to a patch of land beside the cemetery where makeshift huts — payag-payag, as locals call them, were situated.
Inside these small shelters lie the bones of the poor, wrapped in cloth, stored in plastic boxes, or sometimes left bare.
For Lando Bentulan, the cemetery’s caretaker for the past 45 years, this sight has long been ordinary and heartbreaking.
He said families who cannot afford a bone chamber have no other choice but to build their own payag-payag, so their loved ones would still have a place to “rest.”
“Those who cannot afford a bone chamber, the indigent, simply build makeshift shelters here,” Bentulan said in Cebuano.
“This is what our poor brothers do. They just manage, so that during All Souls’ Day, they have a place to go to remember their dead loved ones,” he added.
The New Corazon Cemetery covers about 9,900 square meters, but beyond its fence is a much larger government-owned lot now dotted with at least 2,000 huts.
Most are made of wood, bamboo, and rusted roofing sheets, fragile shelters that protect the remains of those whose families could not pay for a permanent space inside.
Inside, the bones rest as best they can — in cardboard boxes, cut water containers, or simply exposed under the hut’s tin roof.
Under local practice, bodies are exhumed five years after burial and moved to bone chambers. But in New Corazon Cemetery, that transfer comes with a difficult choice: pay P15,000 for a chamber inside, with P5,000 due every year afterward, or bring the remains outside, where it’s free.
The 90-unit bone chamber inside the cemetery, built two years ago and managed by the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer, has only four occupied slots so far, Bentulan said.
He believes the dead deserve the dignity of a proper resting place, but poverty has drawn a line even here - between those who can afford peace and those who cannot.
“Wa man na-lebel ng sitwasyon sa tawo. Ang naay kaya, adto’s sulod. Pero ingun-ani run, naa la’y drayber sa sikad, kargador, luoy kaayo,” said Bentulan.
(The situation is not the same for everyone. Those who can afford it, they stay inside. But the rest, some are just pedicab drivers, or porters, it’s very pitiful.)
“Og pareha lang og kalidad ang mga tawo, naa la’y sapi, adto ni sa bone chamber, pero di man, mao ra ni naabot nila,” he added.
(If people were equal, if they only had money, they would choose the bone chamber. But they don’t — so this is where they end up.)
Beyond the fence, among the rows of makeshift shelters, one of the huts houses the bones of his own uncle, a caretaker tending not just to others’ dead, but to his own family.
Costs of dying
For many families, saying goodbye is not only an emotional journey, but a financial one - expenses that stretch long after the funeral and into the years of maintaining the dead’s resting place.
In an article published on Jan. 26, 2025, by the Golden Future Life Plans, a life insurance, funeral expenses can range from P18,000 to P1 million, depending on the type of service and burial.
Funeral expenses, according to Golden Future Life Plans, include:
Transfer and embalming: The process starts with transferring the deceased from the place of death to a funeral home. Basic funeral packages, which often include services like embalming, flowers, and viewing setup, can start at around P8,000. However, more comprehensive services may escalate the cost.
Casket or coffin: Wooden caskets can be as affordable as P3,000, while higher-end options, depending on materials and craftsmanship, can reach up to P100,000.
Wake and funeral services: Holding a wake at home is a common practice to minimize costs, however, funeral homes and memorial chapels also offer venues with varying price points:
Budget funeral homes: P8,000 - P10,000
Mid-range funeral homes: P15,000 - P250,000
High-end memorial chapels: P300,000 - P500,000
Additional expenses:
Food and drinks: Providing refreshments during the wake can cost from P5,000 to P25,000, depending on the duration and number of attendees.
Clothing: Outfitting the deceased in formal attire may add an extra P500 or more, based on preferences.
Prayer services: Fees for religious services vary, influenced by the venue and specific rites performed.
Burial costs:
Apartment-type tombs: Starting at P1,000 in public cemeteries.
Private burial lots: P65,000 to P100,000.
Mausoleums: Construction costs begin at P1 million, with estate lots reaching up to P18 million.
Cremation: Cremation is often viewed as a cost-effective alternative:
Basic cremation services: Prices start at around P20,000.
Comprehensive packages: Including viewing and urn, costs can go up to P140,000.
Columbarium niches: For urn storage, prices range from P20,000 to P150,000.
Legal documentation and miscellaneous costs: Securing a death certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority is essential, with fees ranging from P150 to P500. Additional expenses may include transportation, obituary announcements, and memorial programs, which can collectively add several thousand pesos to the total cost, according to the Golden Future Life Plans.
Sanitation, safety
Under Presidential Decree 856, or the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines, remains that are exhumed must be disinfected and sealed in a properly identified container before reinterment.
“The remains upon exhumation shall be disinfected and placed in a sealed coffin case or box, and properly identified as to the name of the deceased, date and cause of death and place of reinterment,” reads a portion of PD 856.
Bentulan said so far he has never fallen ill despite his everyday exposure to the bones.
Bogo City Mayor Maria Cielo “Mayel” Martinez, in an interview, said she will instruct the office in charge to visit the cemetery to assess the situation.
Martinez, after the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu on Sept. 30, 2025, had also visited the cemetery to check following reports that some tombs were damaged.
As to the payag-payag and bone chamber concern, Martinez said while the City Government is willing to help and make arrangements, the cemetery itself is privately managed by the church, and any intervention would require coordination with parish authorities.
SunStar Cebu sought comment from the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer, but the priest-in-charge, who refused to give his name, said he was new to the post and not yet aware of the situation.
Remembering
Bentulan said though sad to look at, the payag-payag will again come alive with light and sound.
“It will look like a fiesta here on kalag-kalag. Their families will be visiting them,” said Bentulan.
For two nights, the huts will glow with candles and voices, a fragile celebration of love that endures beyond fences and price tags.
And when the candles fade, Bentulan will sweep the paths again, making sure that even those who couldn’t afford peace can, at least, rest remembered.