Sagarbarria wants upgrade of old Dumaguete cemetery

CEBU, Philippines – Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria announced plans of converting the old Bagacay public cemetery into a memorial park comparable to private cemeteries.

Sagarbarria had appropriated funds for the improvement of the facade and the gate of the public cemetery and, earlier this year, had started Phase 1 of the disinterment process for graves five years old and above, and then placed these in a bone chamber.

Two bone chambers with 72 compartments, constructed at a cost of P500,000 were inaugurated this week, in the presence of City Health Officer Maria Sarah Talla, City Administrator William Ablong, and City Engineer Edwin Quirit who was tasked by the mayor to make the design of the niches and the bone chamber, as well as putting up of more lights inside the cemetery.

Rearranging the niches with the use of uniformed pre-fabricated materials, and the construction of 16 more bone chambers was part of Sagarbarria’s plan, which will be implemented by phases, depending on the availability of funds.

During the inauguration, Sagarbarria promised to allocate an additional P3 million to fund Phase 2 works. He requested that the next mayor to continue with the rest of the phases for the public cemetery to make it more decent and organized.

Families of disinterred bones who can afford a bone chamber would be required to pay a one-time amount of P4,000, while those who could not pay the amount could place the bones of their departed loved ones in the “common” space, also within the chamber.

Sagarbarria, citing the coming All Souls’ and All Saints’ Days observance, further ordered the cleanup of the public cemeteries in Bagacay and in Bogo. (FREEMAN)