Eight hundred sacks of human remains are seen here stacked in the upper section of Barangka Public Cemetery, following the exhumation of bones that exceeded the five-year “rental period.” JOWN MANALO / INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 800 sacks of human remains have been exhumed and left unclaimed in Barangka Public Cemetery for Undas 2024.
The remains were exhumed after reaching the five-year “rental period” set by the local government of Marikina.
The Barangka Public Cemetery administration stated that under Marikina City Ordinance No. 020, series of 2010, burials in the cemetery are subject to a five-year “rental period”, with the burial lots locally referred to as “apartments”.
“The rental of lot/vault/niche shall be for a period of five years. One month after the expiration of the rental period, if the remains are not removed by the immediate family, the remains shall be compulsory transferred to the cemetery ossuary,” the city ordinance read.
A poster of the Section 6 of Marikina City Ordinance No. 020 series of 2010 is posted outside the cemetery’s administrative office. JOWN MANALO / INQUIRER.net
According to Barangka Public Cemetery Administrative Officer Reynato Beltran, remains that exceed the five-year limit must be disentombed due to the cemetery’s 5,000-grave capacity.
“Bago sila maglibing dito, sinasabi talaga namin na five years lang ang kontrata nila dito. Kasi kung di namin tatanggalin ‘yan, wala na kaming paglilibingan. Paano yung mga namamatay, saan namin ilalagay yan? Saan namin ilalagay yung mga labi diba kung di kami magbubukas?” Beltran told INQUIRER.net in an interview on Wednesday.
(Before they proceed with the burial here, we make it clear that their contract is only for five years. If we don’t remove the remains after that period, we’ll run out of space. What about the ones who pass away afterward, where would we place them? How can we accommodate future burials if we don’t free up space?)
The cemetery official added that ongoing renovations on one side of the cemetery have further reduced space, limiting the area available for new burials.
“Naka-freeze ‘tong kabila [na side ng sementeryo], walang nililibing dito kasi under renovation yan,” Beltran shared.
(This side [of the cemetery] is currently frozen, no burials are taking place here because it’s reserved for renovation.)
Exhumed remains are placed in sacks and labeled in numbers corresponding to their previous lots and tombstones for identification, he further explained.
The sacks of human remains are tagged with numbers for identification purposes. JOWN MANALO / INQUIRER.net
READ: Families, communities clean up tombs, cemeteries for Undas 2024
As of August this year, 100 sacks have already been claimed by their immediate families according to cemetery officials.
They expect more families to retrieve the remains of their loved ones as November 1 and 2 approach.