Cemetery in A. Lopez, Cebu City closed due to illegal exhumations

Stock photo of a cemetery in Cebu City. | CDN File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Families of deceased individuals have been illegally exhuming bodies in a cemetery along A. Lopez Steet in Cebu City prompting the city government to close down the cemetery.

Councilor David Tumulak said that certain individuals had tried to bury their dead without permission in this cemetery, a consequence of the lack of burial spaces in the city due to the rising deaths of COVID-19.

Some of them were allegedly paid for by individuals desperately in need of burial space, and they exhumed bodies before the 5-year-mark, which is when bodies would be safe to be removed from the burial ground or cell.

Furthermore, they found that these people had exhumed the bodies without the consent of the families of the deceased. The relatives have complained to the city government.

“Naay mga tawo dinha nga gipanglungkab ang mga lubnganan. Mao na nagmeeting ta ni Dr. Alice Aycardo (Cadaver Division head of the City Health) nga ipamonitor na nga sementeryo. Mientras, ato lang usang gipasirad-an,” said Tumulak.

(There are people there who exhume bodies from the niches. That is why we met with Dr. Alice Aycardo (Cadaver Division head of the City Health) to monitor the cemetery. For now, we just closed it.)

For now, the Cadaver division will oversee the regulation of the cemetery, especially that the individuals doing these were allegedly workers of the same cemetery.

“Murag gihimo na nilang panginabuhian dinha ba,” added the councilor.

(It seems that they had made this their livelihood.)

Tumulak reminds families of deceased individuals that a burial permit is required prior to burying their dead. This is a natural process in getting a death certificate from the City Health.

The City Health Cadaver Division will help the families find a burial spot, and with the lack of space, the office can even assign burial spots for those who cannot afford a private cemetery.

Without this burial permit, families cannot simply bury their dead anywhere they like.

While investigations continue, the cemetery in A. Lopez Street will remain closed and when regulations have been put in place, it will once again be open for burials.

As of August 5, 2021, Tumulak said there were 171 expected exhumations of bodies in the several urban cemeteries in the city, which gives space for more bodies to be buried.

If there are no available burial spots yet, the bodies will be buried in the cemeteries in the mountain barangays.

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