The Bacolod City government is eyeing the construction of a crematorium, with the rising number of deaths, not only related to COVID but also other ailments, and with the three big cemeteries of Bacolod in Burgos, Handumanan, and Granada almost fully occupied already.
City Administrator, Atty. Joseph Edward Cuansing, said that Mayor Evelio Leonardia is also mulling that the crematorium will be managed by the City.
Cuansing said cremation is a practical and accepted form of caring for the remains of loved ones.
The proposed crematorium might be put up at the Handumanan cemetery.
The City is still in the process of determining the expenses to be incurred in establishing a crematory and the City Engineer’s Office is gathering the needed data that will be submitted for budgeting.
Cuansing added that Leonardia wants the project to start next year, to avert the fast increase in the layering of tombs at the Handumanan Cemetery.
He said that interment was no longer accepted at the Burgos Public Cemetery since 2019, and the cemeteries in barangays Handumanan and Granada became the remaining burial sites.
The proposal was discussed after Cuansing received reports of damaged tombs and stolen gravestones at the Bacolod public cemetery. He said he requested the Bacolod City Police Office to investigate the matter.
Those with loved ones buried at the Burgos cemetery lodged complaints before the cemetery administrator after they discovered these incidents during their visit the past days. — MML
