Map of Cebu City.
CEBU CITY – At least 1,000 niches will be built in four cemeteries in this city to address the lack of tombs caused by the rising number of deaths due to COVID-19.
The Archdiocese of Cebu on Tuesday approved the request of the Cebu City government to build additional tombs to accommodate persons who died of COVID-19 and other illnesses.
According to Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, 290 niches will be constructed in each Catholic cemeteries in Barangays Calamba, Luz, Talamban, and Carreta.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma earlier supported the city’s proposal to help families with difficulty finding tombs for their deceased loved ones.
Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama was grateful to the Cebu archdiocese for helping the local government find a space to bury the dead.
“On behalf of the city government, our Mayor Edgardo Labella, the city council, and the whole city of Cebu, we thank Archbishop Jose Palma and the other officials of our archdiocese for extending a helping hand,” he said.
City Councilor Jerry Guardo, the infrastructure committee chairman, was tasked to oversee the construction of the burial spaces in the city.
As agreed upon, the city government will spend for the construction of the niches while the church will allocate 140 square meters of cemetery space and maintain and manage the niches.
Tumulak said some private individuals had provided sand, gravel, cement, iron bars, and other materials to construct the additional tombs.
“We urged families of those who died not to worry because the city is doing its part not to burden them,” he said.
City Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementer of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, said the number of deaths brought about by the coronavirus in Cebu City was more than five times the number recorded in June.
The city logged 14 COVID-19 deaths in June, followed by 86 in July.
In August, the number of COVID-19 fatalities in the city went up to 226 deaths.
As of August 25, Cebu City has recorded 4,617 active cases of COVID-19.
Since the pandemic’s start last year, the city has had 36,727 cases with 30,984 recoveries and 1,126 deaths.
The Cebu City government earlier wanted to create a city-owned cemetery, but the plan was shelved after the number of deaths in the city went down in September last year.