• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The Bacolod city government is completing the requirements for the exhumation process at the Burgos public cemetery to pave the way for a rehabilitation project along Lopez Jaena Street.
City administrator, Atty. Mark Steven Mayo, said they are looking to retrieve 15 to 20 skeletal remains per day and transfer these to a bone vault at the Handumanan cemetery.
“We are now assessing if it is necessary to conduct another face-to-face meeting (with the families of the deceased) and then we will have to resort to publication as a notice to the public. After the publication, we will do the actual exhumation,” Mayo said, noting that after the publication, they will secure the exhumation permit before the transfer.
He added that the relocation process will take three to four months, provided that the logistics are finalized and the families of the deceased are properly notified.
“Per the assessment of the DRRMO and the city engineer’s, a portion of the cemetery is not stable, we have to do things as quick as possible, that’s why we are putting everything in place because we have to go through the process; we cannot just dig up the collapsed area because there is a law stating that the families concerned should be informed,” Mayo added.
City engineer Loben Ceballos confirmed that the entire rehabilitation project is worth P4.7 million.
The long-term rehabilitation plan includes the construction of a safer loading and unloading area, alongside a new sidewalk designed to secure pedestrians.
In the interim, the city government is implementing a half-lane closure on the section of the cemetery where the perimeter wall collapsed Friday night after a heavy rain.
Mayo said this temporary measure will remain in place to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians passing through the area. | TMD
