The local government of Marikina announced on Thursday, October 31, that it had filed charges against the personnel of Barangka Public Cemetery for unauthorized exhumation of remains.
It said that the complaint was filed before the Marikina City Prosecutors' Office by Dr. Christopher N. Guevara, head of the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (CESU), and Rolando V. Dalusong, chief of Environmental Health and Sanitation.
The complaint has been filed against “Renato Beltran,” “Ian Lester Beltran,” “Irish Santos,” “Rowell Ogayon,” “Pablo Papa,” and a certain “Solayao.” These individuals are the Barangka Public Cemetery administrators, administrative staff, and undertakers.
According to the city government, the said personnel were accused of violating Presidential Decree 856 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on the code on sanitation of the Philippines, specifically Section 5, which prohibits the unauthorized disturbance or exhumation of remains without permit, and failure to inter the remains in the proper manner.
They were accused following the investigation and inspection conducted by the City Health Office (CHO)-Sanitation Section, wherein several remains inside plastic bags were discovered at an open space in the Barangka Cemetery.
“The said remains were exhumed without permit from the City Health Office-Sanitation Section,” the CHO said.
“The remains were not buried in accordance with the guidelines set forth by Section 89 of the Presidential Decree 856, which requires that ‘burial interment of remains must be in a grave, tomb, or the sea,” it added.
The complaint stated that “the unauthorized exhumation of remains is a direct affront to the dignity and respect for the deceased, causing emotional distress, not only to the public but also to the affected families and community.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro had earlier ordered cemetery officials not to dig any graves as Barangka Cemetery undergoes rehabilitation.
"May existing nga tayong ordinansa pero naglabas ako ng moratorium para huwag na muna maghukay (We may already have an existing ordinance, but I issued a moratorium to suspend any digging activities for the time being)," the mayor explained.
According to him, the personnel had no authority or clearance and conducted the digging without permission.
He said that the personnel took advantage of the situation to make money by selling the tombs from which the remains were removed.
“Pero dahil sinamatala rin nila ang pagkakataon para pagkakitaan. Dati ikaw maglilibing dito mga P1,000 to P2,000 ang babayaran mo sa maglilibing. Ngayon pinagkakitaan. Parang isang sindikato nangyari (However, they took advantage of the oppurtunity to profit. Previously, you would pay around P1,000 to P2,000 for a burial here. Now, they are profiting from it. It seems like a syndicate operation),” he said.
“Binibenta nila ‘yung puntod, ‘yung lugar na pinag-alisan. Kaya isang sindikato nga ito, hindi ito ordinaryong galawan ng isa o dalawang tao... Talagang pinagplanuhan (They are selling the tomb, the place that was vacated. This is indeed a syndicate. It’s not just an ordinary operation by one or two people... It was truly planned),” the mayor added.
The mayor said what happened to the remains at Barangka Cemetery was wrong and unforgivable, as he vowed, “Papanagutin natin sila sa batas. Kinasuhan na natin nang administratibo at kriminal lahat ng involved na personnel ng Barangka Cemetery… dahil kawalan ng respeto ang ginawa nila sa ating mga namayapang mahal sa buhay (We will hold them accountable under the law. We have filed administrative and criminal charges against all the personnel involved at Barangka Cemetery… because what they did was a disrespect to our deceased loved ones.”
Related story:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/10/31/quimbo-calls-for-humane-governance-amid-marikina-cemetery-exhumation-1