Plan to build crematorium stirs up Dumlog residents

CEBU, Philippines - The plan to construct a crematorium inside a private cemetery in barangay Dumlog in Talisay City has upset some residents in the neighborhood.

Lawyer Haide Orbiso, one of the residents in the place, has cited health and environmental issues as some of the reasons that drive residents to oppose the construction of a crematorium, worried about the pollutants it would create.

Andrew Quijano, owner of Golden Eye Inc., would develop the 2-hectare property into cemetery where a crematorium would also be constructed.

In yesterday’s council session, Councilor Romeo Villarante told the city council members that Quijano is building a crematorium without having acquired a permit for the construction. 

“Nganong nagtukod naman sila nga wala pa makakuha og building permit?” Villarante said. 

Councilor Charles Basillote, the ex-officio of the city council representing barangay captains, and a barangay captain of Dumlog, said the owner was already informed about his violation and the possible penalty for constructing a building without a permit. 

Basillote, however, said Quijano has not yet started to operate the crematorium but added that it would be difficult to get the approval of the barangays considering the opposition from the officials and the residents. 

“Ang maong lugar usa ka residential area. Mura’g maglisod siya og pagkuha og pagtugot sa barangay,” Basillote told reporters after the session. 

Basillote, however, said the council is not against the construction of a cemetery in the area but totally against the construction of a crematorium, which normally is built far from densely populated areas because of the harmful chemicals generated during cremation through combustion. 

Basillote said the construction was done without consulting the residents.

In a separate interview with reporters, Sherwin Velaso, the caretaker and brother of the developer, said the opposition has no basis because the cemetery is 50 kilometers away from the residential area. 

The developer had already acquired a Certificate of Non-Coverage, which negates the need for the issuance of an ECC.

DENR-Administrative Order No. 2003-30 which governs the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Philippine Environment Impact Statement (EIS) System, Article I Section 3 defines that Certificate of Non-Coverage is “a certification issued by EMB certifying that based on the submitted project description, the project is not covered by the EIS System and is not required to secure an ECC.” – (FREEMAN)