New site for cemetery proposed

Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider has proposed a new site for the planned public cemetery in Marpi after an initial measure was thumbed down last week by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio due to unavailability and inappropriateness of the identified public lands.

Under House Bill 11-509, the lots will encompass areas surrounding the Veterans Cemetery, with total land area equivalent to nearly 70,000 square meters.

Mr. Hofschneider also granted sole administration of the new Marpi public cemetery to the Department of Public Health as recommended by the governor when he vetoed the original proposal last week.

The department will also be responsible for the design and development of the site based on acceptable standards, including construction of interment, crypts and crematorium, in coordination with other government agencies.

But the Department of Lands and Natural Resources will still oversee ground maintenance, coordination of burial activities and further improvements of the site, according to the bill passed by the House of Representatives last Thursday.

The measure, which now heads to the Senate for action, came just days after Mr. Tenorio disapproved the initial plan as the three lots designated for the site were either not available or ideal for the cemetery.

He also suggested changes to provisions relating to the graveyard’s administration and management as both DPH and DLNR were granted conflicting authorities.

The local chief executive, however, underscored the need to develop a new burial ground on Saipan to relieve overcrowding in existing facilities which can no longer accommodate the average 103 deaths recorded each year.

Marpi has been chosen as site for the new public cemetery as an alternative to existing cemeteries, such as those in Chalan Kanoa, Tanapag and Capitol Hills where the Wireless Hill Public Cemetery.

The latter will be closed down once the new cemetery is completed to prevent contaminating underground water sources of the island, according to Mr. Hofschneider’s proposal.

“[A} new public cemetery is needed on Saipan and perhaps on the other islands in the future to meet the growing demand for burial sites and to provide an ecologically suitable and aesthetically fitting final resting place for the dead,” it added.