A resident in Malabon City has filed multiple complaints against Representative Antolin 'Lenlen' Oreta III over the alleged botched rehabilitation of the Tugatog Cemetery, according to a report by RH 5 Val Gonzales.

In an 11-page complaint, resident Tomas Santos Cruz claimed that the remains of his relatives, along with those of around 9,000 others buried at the mentioned cemetery, where according to him, is desecrated and disrespected during the rehabilitation project.

Attorney Avelino Badillo IV, Cruz’s legal counsel, said that the contractor mishandled the transfer of the remains of thousands of individuals buried at the cemetery. He said the bones were mixed together, making it impossible for families to identify and retrieve the remains of their deceased loved ones.

“The disrespect talaga. Sacred ‘yan e, diba? Buto na lang ‘yan, ‘yan na lang yung huli mong alaala, ta’s iju-jumble-jumble mo,” the legal counsel said.

Badillo added that the remains were relocated without prior notice and were carelessly put to the side, with no proper handling or communication to the families of the deceased.

The lawyer also raised health concerns, pointing out that the remains were neither properly labeled nor securely contained. He emphasized that without proper documentation, there’s no way to determine without knowing the causes of death, “You cannot really check out yung issue na ‘yon… We will have problems with that for sure.”

Furthermore, Bandillo noted that the project began in 2022, during the term of then-Malabon City Mayor, now Congressman Oreta, alongside the transfer of remains from the cemetery. He added that beyond alleged irregularities in the implementation of the rehabilitation, the process showed a disturbing lack of respect for the dead.

With a few days left before the observance of Undas (All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day), concerns are now mounting over the potential confusion caused by the ongoing rehabilitation of Tugatog Cemetery.

Moreover, aside from Congressman Oreta, Helen Edith Lee Tan, president of the International Builders Corporation (IBC), has also been named in the complaint for graft and violations of the Procurement Law.