MANILA, Philippines - The problem of overcrowding is not limited to public cemeteries, Malacañang pointed out yesterday.
“Allow me to point out that even in private cemeteries there is overcrowding,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
“Perhaps the problem is really not confined to just public cemeteries but also to private cemeteries,” she added.
Valte was asked to comment on the appeal by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Media Office director Monsignor Pedro Quitorio III for the government to build more public cemeteries.
Asked whether the government has plans to heed Quitorio’s appeal, Valte said it “has not been discussed.”
Quitorio on Friday urged the government to construct more public cemeteries to avoid overcrowding in graveyards during All Saints’ Day.
“This is a big problem. This is not only a Church concern. This is a society concern,” Quitorio said.
“The government or private entrepreneurs should already build new cemeteries to accommodate the growing number of the dead population,” he said.