The century-old cemetery in Barangay Accfa, owned by the city government, is practically "bursting at the seams" with locals needing a new site to accommodate the dead.
The STAR learned that overcrowding in the public cemetery has resulted from up to 160 burials a month. On many instances, residents visiting the tombs of their loved ones are shocked to discover new tombs in front of their kin’s.
Even alleyways have reportedly been converted into burial grounds due to lack of space.
Aside from overcrowding, locals also complain about unscrupulous people carting away iron grills, marble tiles, and copper crucifixes than can be sold to junk dealers.
The overcrowding has given rise to so-called "condos," or four or five tombs piled atop each other.
To bury their dead, a growing number of residents have opted for the nearby private cemetery, Sagrada Familia Memorial Park.
Lota Reyes, the park’s officer-in-charge, told The STAR that there is now an "exodus of the dead" from the public cemetery to the 10-hectare Sagrada Familia.
Reyes said the memorial park still has a wide area available to accommodate the dead.