Loved ones recently laid to rest were illegally exhumed at Marikina’s Barangka Municipal Cemetery.
Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro told 24 Oras that some graves were disturbed without authorization, even though they had been buried for less than three years.
The illegally exhumed remains were discovered piled in a corner of the cemetery.
Teodoro stressed that the Sanitation Code prohibits moving or disturbing graves within three years of burial. However, a criminal group—some who are not from Marikina—has allegedly violated this by exhuming graves to resell the plots for PHP 20,000.
These burial plots are then sold to people who need to bury their deceased loved ones.
The local government has filed Sanitation Code violation charges against six individuals allegedly involved in the illegal exhumations. The cemetery administrator, accused of negligence, has been removed from his position and now faces administrative and criminal charges.
Meanwhile, the illegally exhumed remains could be identified by their families and relatives and placed in an ossuary or common grave, be cremated, or reburied.
