ZAMBOANGA CITY — Twenty deceased individuals, including persons deprived of liberty, an indigent senior citizen, and unclaimed cadavers, were laid to rest in a mass burial at the Public Cemetery in Mercedes on Friday, November 6, 2026, as the city government continued its efforts to ensure that even those without families or financial resources receive a dignified burial.
The mass burial was conducted by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) in coordination with the Barangay Council of Mercedes, under the supervision of Barangay Chairman Romeo Fayluga, with the participation of the City Health Office, Culianan Police Station, funeral service providers, and other concerned stakeholders.
Of the 20 bodies buried, eight were Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) from the San Ramon Penal Colony under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). Another was a 71-year-old resident of Pasonolong whose family reportedly could not afford the expenses of a proper burial, while the remaining 11 were unclaimed bodies from Villa Funeral Homes.
The activity was witnessed by representatives of the local government, City Health Office, Barangay Council of Mercedes, Culianan Police Station, and other stakeholders involved in ensuring the proper and dignified disposition of the deceased.
Under the city’s mass burial program, the local government shoulders the expenses associated with the interment of indigent, unclaimed, and unidentified cadavers. The assistance includes burial plots, coffins, transportation, and the necessary documentation to ensure that deceased individuals receive proper burial services regardless of their financial circumstances or whether they have relatives available to claim their remains.
The program is implemented through the CSWDO in coordination with the City Health Office, funeral homes, and barangay councils. It also seeks to address public health and sanitation concerns by ensuring the timely and proper disposition of unclaimed bodies following the prescribed period of safekeeping and coordination with the appropriate agencies.
Aside from providing a final resting place for those who might otherwise remain unclaimed in funeral homes and morgues, the initiative helps ease the burden on funeral facilities and reduces potential health and sanitation risks associated with the prolonged storage of cadavers.
The mass burial underscores the city’s responsibility to extend social welfare services to vulnerable members of the community, including those who can no longer speak for themselves and those whose families cannot afford the cost of laying them to rest.
By shouldering the necessary burial expenses, the city government seeks to uphold the dignity of every deceased person, ensuring that poverty, lack of family support, or the absence of someone to claim their remains does not prevent them from receiving a respectful and proper interment.