WHAT’S HIS PROBLEM? Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama questions why former mayor Tomas Osmeña filed a case to stop the conversion of the Doña Pepang Cemetery during a press conference. (CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza)
What is there to prohibit when nothing had been done yet?
This was asked by Cebu City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo in reaction to the petition for prohibition and injunction filed in court by former south district congressman Tomas Osmeña against the planned conversion of the Doña Pepang Cemetery into a park.
“In my personal opinion, there is no cause of action for the court. What is there to restrain when nothing has been done yet with the cemetery?” Castillo told reporters yesterday.
In his petition Osmeña, also the city’s former mayor, said Mayor Michael Rama should preserve the cemetery and uphold its historical significance.
He also asked the court to stop the demolition of shanties of occupants there.
In a press conference yesterday, Rama reiterated that he is just implementing Osmeña’s 2008 plan for the cemetery.
Land swap
He said Osmeña asked then Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to donate the cemetery to the city government so he can turn it into a “beautiful park.” “I am confused and aghast. What is prompting him to do it? That case being filed, it’s like he’s using the hammer on himself. Iyang giunay iyang kaugalingon (He’s hurting himself),” Rama said.
But Osmeña clarified that when he authorized the land swap with the Cebu Archdiocese when he was still mayor, the agreement only covered an exchange of properties.
He said he agreed to the swap since roads leading to the cemetery were already deteriorating and he wanted to repair them but the archdiocese had no funds for this.
“There is nothing (for him) to worry about. We will always act based on the rule of law. We want the lives of the poor to be better. If there are those that will be displaced, we will help them by providing relocation where they can own a property for themselves,” Rama said.
Meeting
Rama also clarified that the name of the cemetery shouldn’t be Doña Pepang but the Roman Catholic Cemetery, which he said was coined in a book by Pablo Tingga, a supporter of Osmeña’s father, the late senator Sergio “Serging” Osmeña Jr.
He said there are other cemeteries where the remains can be transferred like in Carreta, Barrio Luz and the Queen City Memorial Garden.
Rama said there is also an “apartment type” cemetery in Sto. Rosario and the Cathedral.
Rama said nothing is final and scheduled yet since the city government will meet with the relatives of the dead.
Collin Rosell, Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) chief, said they invited the relatives of the dead to attend a meeting this coming Sunday at the Social Hall in City Hall’s legislative building.
Deed of exchange
“We will talk to them regarding the plan with the Roman Catholic Cemetery and more importantly, we will ask them how they can help us with the plan,” he said.
Based on DWUP records, there are 221 persons who were buried in the cemetery.
They are mostly grouped together by families. Rosell said there are 35 blocks in the area.
Rosell said under the deed of exchange entered into by the city and the archdiocese in 2011, the cemetery should be converted into a park. But until now it hasn’t been done yet, Rosell said.
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