The Dumaguete City Health Office said a mass disinterment of remnant bones from graves at the Old Bagacay cemetery will start next month.

CHO officer, Dr. Ma. Sarah Talla, said this is necessary because the public cemetery may be declared close due to lack of available spaces.

She called on families of those buried at the old public cemetery to assist the City Engineer's Office in the removal of bones to be placed in the communal bone chamber or temporary facilities, or in available bone chambers for a fee.

She said the CEO has been tasked to demolish the present structures inside the public cemetery, because the construction of standard prefabricated niches will start for uniformity in size and form.

This will allow the city to maximize the use of the area, with the construction of four layers of niches.

City engineer Edwin Quirit said the initial phase of construction of the niches will involve one-eighth of the entire cemetery. A permanent bone chamber will also be installed.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod allocated P1 million for the mass disinterment, of which P500,000 will be used in the construction of the bone chamber and temporary facilities in the public cemetery.

About 3,000 bodies were buried at the Old Bagacay public cemetery that was constructed in the mid-80s, Quirit said.*JG

back to top