MEMBERS of the Chinese-Filipino community in Cebu are seeking the restoration of the Chinese Cemetery in Barangay Carreta in Cebu City.
Lawyer Augusto Go, owner of the University of Cebu (UC), said that the old Cebu Chinese Cemetery, owned by the Asociacion Benevola de Cebu, has been abandoned and is now being occupied by informal settlers.
Go told VoxPop Cebu that the 4.4-hectare cemetery has been the resting place of prominent Chinese-Cebuano personalities since before World War II.
Go’s deceased family members and relatives, including his parents, Don Manuel Gotianuy and Alicia, were buried in the old Chinese cemetery.
Well-known Chinese-Cebuano families, such as the Gaisanos, Gothongs, Ludo, Uy-Herrera, Uytengsu and Unchuan also have mausoleums in the old Chinese cemetery.
But over the years, the cemetery faced various problems, particularly the encroachment of informal settlers.
Earlier, two Chinese families sought the help of the Cebu City Government to evict more than 200 families living inside the cemetery after they found out that the graves of their relatives were dug out and their possessions were stolen.
Go, however, said that the problem could have been prevented if the Chinese-Filipino community in Cebu had promptly acted on the matter.
Go urged the association, which is the sole manager of the cemetery, to act on the matter.
The more than 200 families living inside the Cebu Chinese Cemetery expressed willingness to cooperate with the graveyard’s management should the Chinese-Filipino community proceed with the restoration of the cemetery, Councilor Dave Tumulak, who is deputy mayor for police matters, said.
The management of the old cemetery reportedly allowed the families, who previously resided in one of the reclaimed areas in Cebu, to live inside the graveyard after they were displaced by a demolition.
As for reports of the remains being unearthed and their possessions stolen, Tumulak said that the authorities already apprehended the suspects involved in the activity.
Go said he was saddened that some of the new generation of Chinese-Filipino families in Cebu have opted to bury their dead elsewhere.
Even those who were buried at the old Chinese cemetery have been transferred to other cemeteries by their surviving families, Go said.
“The old cemetery is considered as a historical place. I hope that our friends can act to save the cemetery from ruin,” he added.
