Osmeña mausoleum eyed for park

A mausoleum for prominent members of the Osmeña family will be developed into  a public park as part of a land swap  with the Cebu Archdiocese.

In a resolution passed in its session last June 15, the Cebu City Council authorized Mayor Michael Rama to enter into a lot exchange  with the archdiocese.

The deal involves exchanging the 9,282-square-meter property  owned by the church  in barangay Carreta with a city-owned property in barangay Pasil.

The burial site, however, would be maintained and further developed as  a public park with the aim of preserving “its historical importance to Cebu City.”

The resolution authored by Councilor Edgar Labella said the land swap was approved when Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was still Cebu archbishop.

The mausoleum is the burial ground of  the remains of former Cebu City mayor Sergio Osmeña Jr. and his mother, Doña Estefania Chiong Veloso de Osmeña.

It also stores the remains of Juana Osmeña, mother of the late president Sergio Osmeña Sr., and other members of the Osmeña, Veloso, Suico and Sotto families of Cebu.

For decades, the  mausoleum has been used exclusively by members of the Osmeña family who gather in the area especially on All Souls’ Day.

“It shall be annotated in the title of the donated property the preservation and enhancement of the cultural and historical significance of the Osmeña mausoleum, located along M. J. Cuenco Avenue, once the property is transferred in the city’s name,” the resolution stated.

Copies of the resolution will be furnished to Vidal, now Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Councilor Margot Osmeña and the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac