LANDMARK The Cebu provincial capitol, a landmark in Cebu City, will continue to be maintained as a tourism facility even if a new building is constructed in Balamban town. CEBU PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT FACEBOOK PHOTO
CEBU CITY — A cemetery in this city will undergo retrofitting to transform it into a heritage park starting July.
The Cebu City government broke ground on June 22, to pave the way for the reconstruction of the Doña Pepang Cemetery located in the boundary of Barangays Tejero and Carreta.
Ramil Ayuman, special assistant to the Mayor’s Office and project overseer, said the transformation of the park would not cost the city any centavo.
Various stakeholders, he said, pledged to help reconstruct the historic resting place of former first lady Estefania “Doña Pepang” Veloso Osmeña, wife of the late president Sergio Osmeña Sr. and grandfather of former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña.
The 11,742- square-meter property also houses the remains of some prominent families in the city: Cuenco, Del La Rama, Aznar, Pelaez, Cajeres, and Rallos, among others.
At least 15 stakeholders have promised to finance the project at a cost of about P50 million.
Ayuman said the reconstruction of Doña Pepang cemetery would be completed in six months.
The heritage park will feature a mini amphitheater, green and open space, and its old architecture.
Ayuman said the Doña Pepang cemetery is the first Roman Catholic cemetery in Cebu City that would soon become the first public heritage park.
“This is the start of the transformation from a cemetery to a magnificent heritage park,” he said.
Ayuman said the Doña Pepang cemetery is just one of the old cemeteries that Mayor Michael Rama would like to develop into a heritage park.
Rama, he said, was just waiting for the go-signal of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma as well as the parishes which have jurisdiction over the cemeteries.
In October last year, Rama ordered the clearing operation at the Doña Pepang Cemetery in preparation for the project.
The mayor called on citizens to support the project which he first proposed in 2015.
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