Fate of Marpi cemetery still unclear

The long-overdue opening of the Marpi public cemetery is exacerbating the lack of burial sites on Saipan as other public cemeteries are now overcrowded and nearing capacity.

The lack of burial plots has some in the community worried about where to bury their dear departed ones.

Dora (not her real name) said she knows her “father’s time is coming” and that she needs to prepare now for his burial services. Try as she might, however, she couldn’t find any available burial plots at the Chalan Kanoa cemetery, which is already overcrowded. When she inquired about the Marpi public cemetery, she was told that it wasn’t open yet.

The Marpi public cemetery is supposed to be a non-denominational public cemetery and has 2,500 double-stack occupancy crypts for a total of 5,000 burials. The cemetery is said to have the potential to provide over 50,000 crypts for 33 years.

Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo, special adviser to the Department of Land and Natural Resources secretary/grants program, said that discussions were made with several agencies about opening the Marpi public cemetery during the time of former DLNR secretary Arnold Palacios.

Teregeyo noted that the DLNR, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Division of Public Health’s Bureau of Environmental Health, the CNMI Veteran’s Affairs Office, the Office of the Attorney General, and Department of Public Works were in a committee to help with the opening of the Marpi public cemetery.

“Mainly it is DLNR and DPH-BEH, including Teresita J. Sablan, assistant attorney general, who are helping in the committee with regards to the opening of the cemetery. As far as I know, when I was away from DLNR, they issued out a bid,” Teregeyo said.

The Division of Procurement and Supply, meanwhile, has yet to respond whether a contract has been awarded to open the Marpi public cemetery.

“I was part of the process prior to the bidding. We were looking at some of the loopholes because DLNR was tasked with maintaining the cemetery and DPH was tasked with collecting the fees. So we were trying to figure out how we could collaborate on that,” she said.

Teregeyo said Sablan is off-island and they couldn’t really touch the matter due to other issues that need to be taken cared of.

Teregeyo said that DLNR, DPH, Sablan, and Parks and Recreations will have a meeting in two weeks to discuss the opening of Marpi public cemetery.

The $2.9-million Marpi public cemetery was made possible by funding from the U.S Department of the Interior through a capital improvement project grant in early 2011.

DLNR, through Public Law 11-117, has a freehold interest in public land situated in the Marpi area. There are three lots adjacent to the Veteran’s Cemetery and surround the Veteran’s Cemetery itself that is eyed for the project.

DLNR is tasked with the maintenance of the cemetery, while DPH is tasked with the burial applications and collection fees.

It was learned that a 15-year-old law—Public Law 11-117—designates DPH as the main administrator and is tasked to manage the public cemetery. PL 11-117 puts the responsibility of application requirements, approval, issuance and fee for burial permits. Fees cannot exceed $50, and may be waived for indigent families and for unclaimed bodies.

DPH can also include conditions on burial permits that are necessary to protect the health of the public. Fees will be charged as well for exhumation.

Teregeyo noted that their upcoming meeting may include talks about fees and regulations but they will still need more meeting to discuss other aspects of the stalled project.

Despite earlier reports of the Marpi public cemetery sharing electric power from the Veteran’s Cemetery, there hasn’t been any action toward this yet. Parking spaces are also needed for the cemetery.

According to CNMI Military and Veterans Affairs director Vicente Camacho, the opening of the Marpi public cemetery is in motion and is still being worked at.

“I am not involved, the only involvement is that we share parking space, but all that is needed is to just respect the place and be kept clean and its all about maintenance,” Camacho said.

“Parking area won’t be an issue at all, [as we’re] more than ready to share parking. The Marpi public cemetery goes around the Veteran’s Cemetery, and there is still no sign up, but once it is all good and ready they will have to indicate that there is a public cemetery so there wouldn’t be any confusion between the Veteran’s [Cemetery] and the public cemetery,” he added.

In previous months, Borja Funeral Homes has proposed to build a crematorium in an effort to alleviate the dearth of burial plots. However, the proposal to locate the crematorium in Chalan Kanoa has met some criticism.