ORDINANCE NO: 2022-517 Authored by: Honorable Arnold R. Gavenia; Co Authored by: Honorable Fernando Y. Pameron, Honorable Ronald Christopher Glenn L. Ariosa & Honorable Jesuseller M. Duterte "AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING POLICIES AND GUIDELINES THAT SHALL ADMINISTER THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC CEMETERY FOR MUSLIMS LOCATED AT ITS COMPONENT BARANGAYS, DEFINING ROLES AND FUNCTIONS AND PROVIDING VARIOUS FEES THEREOF" NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur in session assembled: SECTION 1. TITLE. This Ordinance shall be known as "THE MUSLIM CEMETERY OF PAGADIAN CITY: Management and Operational Guidelines." SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is the policy of the City Government of Pagadian to endeavor to provide decent burial services to the departed loved ones of the believers of Islam (Muslim) giving preference to bonafide residents of Pagadian City. It shall undertake to maintain and uphold the Muslim religious beliefs and practices in burying their departed loved ones, customize and upgrade its public service to conform to such beliefs and practices thus, it becomes incumbent to fix the rate of its services. SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS. As used in this Ordinance, the following terms shall be understood as follows: MOSQUE/CHAPEL refers to a building or place in a cemetery, consecrated intended for public gathering or worship; FIRST DEGREE RELATIVE pertains to immediate family member which constitute either descending or ascending counting from the parents to their children as first degree or vice-versa, and shall only be applied to residents' beneficiaries; FUNERAL SERVICES refers to any act of funeral rites rendered in honor of the dead; Muslim Cemetery, a cemetery intended for the burial of believers of Islam (Muslim) owned and operated by the City Government of Pagadian, located at Kalasan, Pagadian City and containing an area of one (1) hectares. SECTION 4. CEMETERY RULES AND REGULATIONS. The following rules and regulations have been adopted as a guide to the use and administration of the Muslim Cemetery. The rules and regulations will help protect all who have interest therein. All persons having rights to burial services, visitors and contractors performing work within the cemetery shall be subjected to said rules and regulations, amendments or alterations as shall be adopted from time to time. A. GENERAL RULES AND REGULTIONS. The Muslim Cemetery must strictly follow the religious beliefs and practices of Islam relative to the disposal of the body of their dead loved ones. The Muslim Cemetery may, and it hereby expressly reserves the right, at any time, upon proper notice to parties in interests, to adopt new rules and regulations or to amend, after and/or repeal any rule, regulation and/or article, in the rules and regulations affecting the internal business, transactions and operations. Special cases may arise in which the literal enforcement of the rules and regulations may impose unnecessary hardship. The Committee, as stipulated in Section 10 of this Ordinance, reserves the right, without notice, to make exceptions, suspensions or modifications in any of the rules and regulations when, in its judgment, the same appear advisable without conflicting against the purposes and intents of this Ordinance, and such temporary exceptions, suspensions or modifications shall in no way be construed as affecting the general application of such; All notices required to be sent shall be sent to the last recorded address and such notices shall be deemed adequate, unless there had been a change of address filed by the person concerned; No person, other than personnel of the Muslim Cemetery, shall be allowed to perform any work within the cemetery without permission from the Administrator or its duly authorized representative provided, however, in cases when a lot owners opted to hire private personnel to work on his unit, it shall be mandatory for such lot owner and his worker/s to execute a contract prior to the actual implementation of the work to be done, copy furnish the Muslim Cemetery for filing and future reference. Provided, however, that such work shall be in accordance with the existing guidelines and specification of the City Government of Pagadian; The Administrator shall direct all improvements within the grounds and upon all burial lots before and after interments have been made therein as long as it does not violate Muslim beliefs and practices. The Muslim Cemetery will take all reasonable precautions to protect the properties and persons within the cemetery from loss, claim and damages but it shall not be responsible for any loss, damage or injury not attributable to its negligence, omissions or commissions; Bringing of alcoholic beverages into the cemetery or entering the premises intoxicated is strictly prohibited; Peddling of any kind or soliciting the sale of any commodity, other than by the Muslim Cemetery, is prohibited within the confines of the cemetery; Adoption of new rules and regulations or amendment or repeal of any rule, regulation and/or section or paragraph in this Ordinance and its Rules and Regulations are subject to the discretion of the administration upon proper observance of lawful processes. Provided, however, that the Local Chief Executive is not precluded from issuing any directive, executive memoranda/circulars/orders to effectively implement the afore-stated policies and guidelines for efficient and effective fiscal and developmental management of the cemetery. GRAVESITE MANAGEMENT: Inscriptions of ANY approved tomb stone or head stone MUST conform to the following requirements: The name and date of death of the deceased may be inscribed in a plain, non-fancy manner on the head stone. No Qur'anic verse, hadith, supplication, poetry or prose shall be inscribed on the head stone. The Muslim Cemetery or its representative reserves the right to remove, without prior notice, ANY head stone not conforming to the posted regulations. ALL violations MUST be corrected by the representatives of the deceased or family members within 30 days upon receipt of written notice. The funeral services, chapel and burial are free of charge. The Muslim Cemetery Management reserves the right to take any preventive measures against any lawsuit No animal, of any kind, shall be buried within the Cemetery. No trees, shrubs, flowers, wreath or tree branches shall be allowed on or around the gravesite. Violators shall be asked to clean up or to pay for cleaning services. No person shall be allowed to remove or relocate any body once buried unless authorized by a competent court. The follow acts at the gravesite are strictly prohibited: Plastering a grave, Building up a grave, Raising a grave, Writing on a grave The following acts are strictly prohibited within the Cemetery grounds: Saying things that would anger Allah, Facing the gravesite in prayer, Reciting the Quran over the gravesite, Sacrificing animals at or near the gravesite, Sitting and standing on any gravesite, Answering the call of nature or urinating among the gravesites, Lamenting over the gravesites, Hanging or placing the deceased's picture on or near the gravesite All graves will be kept flush to ground level. No mounds, structures, monuments or tombs of any type will be allowed. BURIAL PROCESS: Funeral homes and families must comply with the authentic Islamic burial regulations. Violators will be subject to legal action. No internment shall be made without a proper burial permit. No internment shall be made unless a relative/personal representative of the deceased fills in and signs the Muslim Cemetery burial agreement. The burial permit and the cemetery burial agreement MUST be handed over to the grave digger appointed by Muslim Cemetery Management prior to burial. Digging a grave is the exclusive and sole responsibility of the grave digger appointed by the Muslim Cemetery Management. Violators will be considered trespassers. The deceased shall be laid in the grave on his/her right side facing the Qibla (direction of prayer). No object shall be buried with the deceased. No one shall be allowed to uncover the deceased's body in part or in total in the grave, at the gravesite, or anywhere within the Cemetery grounds. Night burial is disapproved except in situations of necessity. Burial is prohibited at sunrise, sunset and when the sun is in the zenith. Women are not allowed to follow the funeral procession and the burial procedure under the Islamic law unless there are no men to do so. SECTION 5. MASTERPLAN OF CEMETERY DEVELOPMENT. The masterplan of the Muslim cemetery development shall be prepared by the TWG and approved by the City Mayor duly confirmed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod purposely to provide the necessary infrastructures, facilities, utilities, roads, parking lots and others ensuring a well-planned burial site accessible by the public. SECTION 6. CEMETERY FEES AND CHARGES. The rates for the Pagadian City Muslim Cemetery services are imposed as follows: A. BASIC FEES (Mandatory to anyone who wish to avail of the cemetery services.) 1. Permit Fee Php. 1,000.00 C. USE OF FACILITY (Hall and Washing): The use of the facility where the dead body shall be washed is charged at P1,000.00 to cover for the use of water and electricity. SECTION 7. RESIDENCY. Only deceased who are bonafide residents of the City of Pagadian City may avail of the services of the Muslim Cemetery. For this purpose, a resident is one who has been residing for at least one (1) year within the territorial jurisdiction of this City upon showing of sufficient proof. PROOF OF RESIDENCY. Upon presentation of the following pieces of documentary evidence to serve as proof of the residency of the deceased as a resident of the City, the applicant who wishes to avail of the special privileges must present: SECTION 9. HOUSE RULES. Details of Rules and Regulations and other guidelines not included in this Ordinance are stipulated in House Rules (Will be made in consultation with the representatives of Muslim residents of the city). SECTION 10. CREATION AND COMPOSITION OF THE PAGADIAN CITY MUSLIM CEMETERY COMMITTEE. The Pagadian City Muslim Cemetery Committee (herein referred to as the "Committee"), which shall be created through an Executive Order by the City Mayor shall convene within ten (10) days upon approval of this Ordinance and shall periodically meet thereafter or as the exigencies require. THE COMMITTEE SHALL BE COMPOSED OF THE FOLLOWING: Chairman : The City Mayor Co-Chairmen : The City Executive Secretary The Head of the Office of the Muslim Affair Vice Chairman : The City Vice Mayor Members : Sangguniang Panlungsod Member (Chairman of the Committee of the Infrastructure and Community Development) The City Engineer The City Planning and Development Officer The City Health Officer The City Administrator The City Legal Officer The Public Information Officer The Head of the Human Resource Management Department Cemetery Administrator (must be a Muslim) Representative of the Imams Representative from the Ustadz Representative from the Muslim Community The City Mayor as Chairman of the Pagadian City Muslim Cemetery Committee shall, by way of an appointment or designation, choose any employee of the City Government of Pagadian who, in his discretion, has the technical knowledge and capability to efficiently handle the work, and occupy the position of the Muslim Cemetery Administrator that shall remain interim until the Office of the City GLP is created. The members of the COMITTEE shall, by virtue of its powers provided hereof, upon its convening pursuant to this order, appoint the members of the Technical Working Group (TWG). PURPOSES OF THE COMMITTEE. The purposes and objectives of the Committee is to oversee the coordination of all resources of the City Government in pursuing its mandate to provide and maintain adequate, decent, affordable and modern burial services for the greatest number of bonafide City constituents, and the introduction of improvements in the cemetery properties and upgrading of its services in line with the Master Plan, and to carry out other relevant laws and Ordinances. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE. The Committee shall have the following powers and functions: Be the coordinating body that shall oversee the operations, functions, affairs, and activities of the Muslim Cemetery through or in coordination with the City Engineering Department and shall have under its jurisdiction all the City Government departments, task forces, and other offices, for purposes of the implementation of this Ordinance; (An Organizational Structure shall be made to determined the flow of functions) Implement and accomplish the Master Plan and other relevant laws and ordinances; Formulate, enforce and/or delegate the general and specific policies, rules and regulations of the Muslim Cemetery as the Committee shall deem necessary for the proper administration of this Ordinance; To propose, prescribe, and impose updated fees for the services of the Pagadian City Muslim Cemetery in accordance with current laws, ordinances, rules and regulations; Enter into contracts, covenants or agreements whenever necessary under such terms and conditions as it may deem proper and reasonable in relation to, and limited only to the Muslim Cemetery activities; To recommend administrative penalties to any employee for failure to comply with the directives of the Committee in relation to cemetery services; and Exercise other powers as may be necessary or incidental for the attainment of the purposes and objectives of this Ordinance. DUTIES OF THE Cemetery ADMINISTRATOR. The Cemetery Administrator shall carry out the additional tasks, as follows: To execute, administer and implement the policies and measures approved by the Committee; To prepare the agenda for and set the regular meetings of the Committee and to submit for its consideration such policies and measures as he or she may believe necessary to carry out the purposes of this Ordinance; Watch over the day-to-day management and administrative functions over the personnel operating the cemetery; Exercise all other related functions that the Committee may instruct him or her to perform, or as the laws or ordinances may direct. TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP. COMPOSITION OF THE TWG. The TWG shall, except for the Administrator who shall be automatically a member of the TWG, have one (1) representative each of the following offices, to wit: Cemetery Administrator City Engineering Department City Planning and Development Office City Health Department City Administrator's Department City Legal Department City Public Information Office City Treasurer's Department City Budget Department City Human Resource Management Department The Office of the Sanggunian Secretary Division Head of the Office of the Muslim Affairs SECTION 12. PENAL PROVISIONS. Any person violating any of the provisions of the Ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished with a fine of not less than Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00) but not more than Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) or by imprisonment of not less than one (1) month but not more than six (6) months, or both at the discretion of the Court. SECTION 13. NO CONTEST PROVISION. Any person apprehended for violation of a City Ordinance, who does not wish to contest the violation and is willing to pay voluntarily the fine imposed upon him/her prior to the filing of formal complaint with the Office of the City Prosecutor, shall be allowed to pay said fine with the City Treasurer to avoid being criminally prosecuted. SECTION 14. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. If, for any reason, any provision of this Ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect. SECTION 15. REPEALING CLAUSE. All other Ordinances, rules or regulations in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed; provided, that the rights that are vested upon the effectivity of this Ordinance shall not be impaired. SECTION 16. EFFECTIVITY. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its approval and publication at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in Zamboanga del Sur and posting in at least three (3) conspicuous public places in Pagadian City. ENACTED AND APPROVED by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (13th City Council) during its 134th Regular Session on 29 June 2022 at the SP Session Hall, 4th Floor City Commercial Center (C3), Santiago District, Pagadian City.