At first glance, you may think that these small structures make up a neighborhood, maybe even a mini-village, but it's actually a cemetery.

The Vicente Limtiaco Memorial Cemetery at Nimitz Hill was handed over to the Department of Parks and Recreation back in 1998. According to Parks and Rec Director, Roque Alcantara, a few of the structures started at the top of the hill, but more elaborate ones started going up at the lower end when the island went into lockdown back in March of 2020.

"But it seems like it got out of hand and it's you can see that there's sort of like what I call them house for the future I guess," he said.

Families must go through DPR for a permit before any groundbreaking occurs. According to ground burial policy, absolutely no structures, other than head markers are allowed to be built above ground, but as Alcantara explained, the permit is quite vague.

"The funerals know about it the families know about it it's all in the permit that they cannot do construct anything above ground," he said. It's just like you know a dollhouse it's really I mean you can see some of them are really they're really well thought out there's tiling there's windows there's doors."

Some of them even incorporated roof drainage systems. He says the issue is lack of enforcement.

"Because we don't come around here all the time it's just when there's a burial the two guys that are assigned up here come and do the burial but there's nobody assigned up here," Alcantara said.

He said the construction more than likely happens after working hours or during the weekend, but with no gates and no one to regulate the area 24/7, people are free to come and go at any time. The burial area that holds the elaborate structures are designated as those that died of COVID. At the end of the day, he says his hands are tied.

"We can identify the families because we have a log on who's buried there but how do we approach them and say break down your shrine, I guess," he said. "We're just making sure that they don't build anymore."

He added that the close structures make grass cutting difficult, and pose further risks when there are typhoons, but the main issue they pose is backhoe entry. For now, the structures will remain, but he says they'll have to work with DPW to see what the law is as far as erecting them. DPR says the long-term solution would be putting up gates and borders around the perimeter along with installing signs through the burial grounds.

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