DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu and retired Major General Mel Feliciano of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Visayas inspect several potential locations in Cebu City that can be utilized as public cemeteries in this July 2020 photo.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Graves should adjust to the trees and the Guadalupe River must be protected should the new Cebu City Public Cemetery in Barangay Sapangdaku push through.
This was the statement of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, the overseer of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) in Cebu, for the public cemetery aimed at addressing the shortage of burial spaces here.
“We want to keep the trees safe. We want to keep the river clean,” said Cimatu.
The secretary already gave his verbal approval for the project, but the project is yet to be realized with Cebu City still in need of an ordinance from the City Council.
Read: Cimatu gives go-signal to start Cebu City public cemetery project
The ordinance authored by Councilor David Tumulak is awaiting the final approval of the council, but this has been tagged as urgent by Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella.
Cimatu said in a press conference on August 4, 2020, that the graves in this new public cemetery should adjust to the trees around the 2 to 3-hectare lot in Sapangdaku.
He said this eco-friendly design is already adapted in countries abroad and is more sustainable in maintaining the cleanliness of the land.
The trees would also help ensure that the Guadalupe River, which is a river that crosses the barangay, will not be populated.
The secretary also directed the Department of Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) to clean up the other rivers in Cebu after the movement to clean Mahiga Creek has been launched recently.
He said that there are many rivers in Metro Cebu that needs to be cleaned. Working on a cleaner and sustainable environment is as important as fighting against COVID-19.
He urged the city government that once the new public cemetery is implemented, it should always be in respect and in tune with a healthy environment. /bmjo