Mausoleums of the dead at the Bacolod Public Cemetery were turned into dormitories and a duck pen, Rey Demisana, City Legal Office enforcement team head, said on Wednesday, October 25.
Demisana and his team returned to the cemetery on Wednesday to continue clearing it of illegal occupants.
Six houses, some within mausoleums, were demolished and illegal electricity connections were cut off by the CLO team on Tuesday.
A sign that read “Dorm No. 4” was placed on one mausoleum where a second floor had been constructed by its occupants, Demisana said.
On Wednesday the CLO team discovered that a small mausoleum had been turned into a duck pen, he said.
Former City Engineer’s Office job order worker Renato Valderama returned to the cemetery on Wednesday to remove the pornographic photos he had pasted on the wall of the mausoleum he had turned into his home.
Most of those found residing in the cemetery are alleged relatives of previous guards there, Demisana said.
Some of the illegal residents at the cemetery had also allegedly been engaged in removing remains of the dead from graves and selling the spaces for the burial of new cadavers, Demisana added.
That is why some people complain that they cannot find the graves of their dead because the tombstones of their relatives are replaced with new ones bearing the names of the new occupants, he said.
Demisana said owners of mausoleums are afraid to go to the cemetery to visit their dead because of the illegal occupants.
Those who need assistance can seek the help of the CLO enforcement team, he said.
Demisana said they closed the possible exits and removed makeshift stairs at the cemetery on Wednesday.
Their clearing operations at the cemetery will continue, Demisana said.*