Marikina hits exhumation of remains in public cemetery; raps to be filed

Barangka Municipal Cemetery personnel prepare the place for the influx of visitors on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. (JOWN MANALO / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — Marikina City is set to file administrative and criminal cases against Barangka Municipal Cemetery, following the supposedly unauthorized exhumation of approximately 800 human remains.

MarikinaCity  Mayor Marcy Teodoro on Thursday said that the exhumation violated the country’s sanitation code.

“Karamihan sa nakita namin, walang permit na kinuha. At noong hinukay, hindi inilagay sa tamang lagayan tulad ng ossuary. Nakakagalit. Kinokondena natin ito,” Teodoro said in an interview on Thursday.

(Most of what we saw had no permit. And when they were exhumed, they weren’t placed in the proper storage, like an ossuary. This is infuriating. We condemn this.)

An administrative case will be filed for neglect in the performance of duty, while a criminal case will address the violation of Presidential Decree No. 856 or the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines.

In an earlier statement, the city government condemned the exhumation after receiving reports of the incident on Wednesday.

“Hindi papayagan ng Pamahalaang Lungsod ang anumang uri ng kawalang-galang sa ating komunidad. Sinisiguro ng Marikina City Government sa tuwina ay nabibigyang dangal at respeto ang bawat indibidwal, buhay man o yumao na,” the LGU’s statement read.

(The city government will not tolerate any form of disrespect in our community. Marikina City ensures that every individual, whether living or deceased, is treated with dignity and respect at all times.)

Teodoro identified Reynato Beltran, the cemetery administrator, as one of the officials involved in the incident.

Beltran on Wednesday explained to INQUIRER.net that they were merely enforcing the city ordinance, which mandates a five-year “rental period” for remains buried in Barangka Municipal Cemetery.