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IATF hails Cebu City's Covid-19 burial site project

By John Rey Saavedra

July 9, 2020, 9:20 pm

<p><strong>COVID-19 BURIAL SITE.</strong> A representative from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and Cebu City Hall inspect the proposed burial site for patients who succumb to Covid-19, at Sitio Catives II, Barangay Guba, Cebu City. Johnnel Rañeses, who represents Melquiades Feliciano, the IATF-EID chief implementer for Cebu, commended the village chiefs of Guba, Sirao, Paril, and Agsungot for supporting the cemetery project. <em>(Photo courtesy of IATF-EID Visayas)</em></p>

COVID-19 BURIAL SITE. A representative from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and Cebu City Hall inspect the proposed burial site for patients who succumb to Covid-19, at Sitio Catives II, Barangay Guba, Cebu City. Johnnel Rañeses, who represents Melquiades Feliciano, the IATF-EID chief implementer for Cebu, commended the village chiefs of Guba, Sirao, Paril, and Agsungot for supporting the cemetery project. (Photo courtesy of IATF-EID Visayas)

CEBU CITY – The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) said the city will soon have a burial site intended for residents who died of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Johnnel Rañeses, who represents Melquiades Feliciano, the IATF-EID chief implementer for Cebu, thanked the upland village chiefs of Guba, Sirao, Paril, and Agsungot for supporting the cemetery project.

“You have shown us that we are one in this fight against Covid-19. This is what true public service looks like,” Rañeses said in a statement.

Barangay Chairpersons Orland Herrera of Guba, Flaviano Gabunada of Sirao, Neresa Doncillo of Paril, and Pedro Damaolao of Agsungot, as well as their village councils, have approved the proposed cemetery project.

The development of the three-hectare burial site will soon commence at Sitio Catives II in the hinterland barangay of Guba.

The undertaking is part of the city government's efforts to safely manage the remains of Covid-19 patients and ensure the public's health and safety.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, chairperson of the City Council Committee on Risk Reduction and Management, in a separate statement, assured residents of Guba and neighboring localities that the cemetery, which will be called the Cebu City Botanical Memorial Garden, shall not pose any health risk to the community.

He said it can even help create livelihood opportunities for residents.

“I saw how they (funeral parlors) handled the dead bodies, and I am willing to stake my name that the process is very thorough to ensure safety,” Tumulak was quoted as saying during a dialogue with the barangay captains.

“The opening of this facility will bring jobs to the community. People can sell goods by the roadside, for example,” he added.

Lawyer Jeneses Ponce, head of the Land Management Office and representative of Mayor Edgardo Labella and the IATF-EID in the Visayas, conducted a site visit at Sitio Catives II to assess on-site preparations being made in the area.

Maria Dianne Rallon, senior project and development officer of the Watershed and Environment Division of the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD), told the Philippine News Agency that the Cebu Protected Landscape-Protected Area Management Board (CCPL-PAMB) in Cebu will convene on Friday to study the proposed burial site.

Rallon said the law empowers CCPL-PAMB to have the final say on projects in protected and watershed areas. (PNA)

 

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