Kalibo in Aklan (Image from Google Maps)
MANILA, Philippines — Kalibo Mayor Emerson Lachica on Tuesday confirmed that Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores ordered all municipal mayors of the province to find burial grounds for deceased COVID-19 patients as its partner-crematorium in Iloilo City has suspended its operations.
“So ngayon dahil sa sira daw ang crematorium sa Iloilo, wala tayong magagawa, dahil as far as advice ng ating governor Miraflores no, na bawat bayan dito sa probinsya ng Aklan ay magkanya-kanya na kami na designated na burial ground,” he said over DZBB.
(So now, that the crematorium in Iloilo broke down, we can’t do anything about it. As far as the advice of our Governor Miraflores, every town in Aklan should have their own designated burial ground.)
Following Miraflores’ directive, Lachica also said he already asked the Sangguniang Bayan to give him authority to buy land for additional burial grounds.
“Nagrequest tayo sa Sangguniang Bayan ng Kalibo na, for the immediate, na bigyan ako ng authority na mag-purchase ng lote para gawin nating additional cemetery in relation sa ginagawang burial ground,” he explained.
(We requested the Office of the Sangguniang Bayan of Kalibo to give me immediate authority to purchase a lot for the additional cemetery in relation to the burial ground.)
Lachica said they need to buy another piece of land because the municipal cemetery is “almost full.”
“Sa ngayon nga yung aming municipal cemetery is halos puno na nga,” he noted.
(For now, our municipal cemetery is almost full already.)
Kalibo, which has a population of more than 89,000, has 389 active cases, 1,759 recoveries and 78 deaths as of Tuesday, according to Vice Mayor Cynthia Dela Cruz.
The province of Aklan was put under modified enhanced community quarantine since Sunday due to increasing cases in the province.