Oreta defends P398M cemetery project

MALABON Lone District Rep. Antolin Oreta III said rehabilitation of the Tugatog Public Cemetery was long overdue after a plunder complaint was filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday over alleged irregularities in the P397.99-million project. ”Before we took out a loan for the rehabilitation, we first consulted the affected families to hear their concerns,” Oreta said in a statement. The complaint questioned the contract awarded to International Builders Corp. (IBC), alleging procurement irregularities and a business arrangement involving a.m. Oreta & Co. Inc., a company owned by the Oreta family. It alleged that IBC entered into a joint venture with the family-owned company while the cemetery project was ongoing. The complainants also questioned the project’s estimate of the number of remains that would need to be exhumed, citing 9,304 remains allegedly dug up during the work. Oreta maintained that the project was properly implemented during his administration. By the time his term ended in June 2022, more than 60 percent of Phase 1 had been completed, with roads and pathways paved, and a cluster of new tombs ready to receive remains, he said. The project was formally turned over to the succeeding city government, along with its documents and records, in the presence of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Oreta added. ”The need of Malabon families for a decent final resting place does not discriminate based on social status or political affiliation,” he said, urging the current administration to set aside political disputes and complete the rehabilitation. The controversy predates the latest complaint. In October 2025, resident Tomas Santos Cruz filed a separate complaint against Oreta and IBC before the Ombudsman over alleged sanitation, procurement and anti-graft violations in the cemetery project.