The town of San Jose de Buenavista in Antique province is ready to accommodate the interment of those who died of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at its new memorial cemetery being constructed at the Binirayan Hills in Barangay 8.
The construction of the P34.8 million memorial cemetery is still ongoing but the remains of four COVID-19 victims have already been interred in the completed niches last month.
“Because of the urgent request of families whose loved ones had died due to COVID-19, we already allowed the entombment on the finished niches,” said Darcy Bungay, Municipal Economic Enterprise and Development Officer (MEEDO), in an interview on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
Once completed, the cemetery, which is constructed in the 6,000-square meter lot owned by the local government, will have a chapel, 59 mausoleum lots, 97 family plots or below the ground burial plots, and 1,446 niches.
It started construction in February 2021 and is expected to be completed next year.
While originally intended for residents of the municipality, the local government will also accept non-residents should the need for interment is urgent.
The local government decided to already open the still under construction cemetery since its new graveyard, which is adjacent to Barangay Bantayan with 2,005 niches, is already full.
Bungay added that the municipal government even provides free niches for the dead loved ones of indigents.
If the bereaved families are in a crisis or had been overwhelmed due to the expense incurred from the hospitalization, then the municipal government provides the cemetery niches for free.PNA
