Visitors in this cemetery in Brgy. Cambinocot, an upland barangay in Cebu City, can now pass through a privately owned land without having to pay an ‘entrance fee.’ Based on claims from visitors, the owner of the property that stood between the cemetery’s entrance and the road leading to it, initially demanded a P50 ‘entrance fee’ to pay for the taxes of the property. CDN Digital photo | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The owner of a property that stood between a public cemetery and the road leading to its entrance was under fire for allegedly demanding entrance fees to visitors.
Relatives of the dead buried in a public cemetery in Barangay Cambinocot, an upland barangay here, complained that a private lot owner barred them from visiting their deceased loved ones during All Saints Day, November 1.
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Some alleged that they had to pay between P50 and P100 as an ‘entrance fee’.
The owner was later found out to be Floro Arconada, who also served as a councilor (kagawad) in Barangay Cambinocot.
After receiving backlash, Arconada apologized and eventually allowed visitors to pass through the property without charging them for an entrance fee.
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In the meantime, Reynald Lauron, barangay captain of Cambinucot, has instructed barangay staff to check the documents of the property in question.
Lauron, in an interview with Cebu-based radio station dyHP, said they received information that the Arconada-owned lot had been donated to the government since 1960.
As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, November 1, the influx of visitors in the cemetery in Barangay Cambinocot went smoothly, and authorities confirmed that no untoward incidents occurred.
/bmjo