MARIKINA PUBLIC CEMETERY FACES RAPS OVER ALLEGED UNAUTHORIZED EXHUMATION

THE local government of Marikina has filed charges against a public cemetery in the city over alleged mishandling of human remains.

It was learned on Thursday that Barangka Cemetery exhumed around 800 sacks of human remains, many of which have been left unclaimed in an open area.

The local government condemned the act as disrespectful to the deceased and a violation of Presidential Decree 856 or the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines.

The city government has filed charges against personnel of the Barangka Public Cemetery, including administrators, staff and undertakers for improper handling of human remains.

The complaints were filed by Dr. Christopher Guevara, head of the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit and Rolando Dalusong, chief of the Environmental Health and Sanitation with the Marikina City Prosecutor’s Office..

The cemetery personnel were accused of violating PD 856 by exhuming remains without a permit and failing to inter them properly.

During an investigation, authorities discovered several remains in plastic bags at the cemetery.

The remains had been exhumed without permission from the City Health Office and were not buried according to the guidelines set forth by PD 856.

Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro has ordered a moratorium on digging at the Barangka Public Cemetery, which is undergoing rehabilitation.