11 ancestral remains reburied at Pago Bay Resort after 17 years

Nearly a dozen ancestral remains disturbed in the Pago Bay Resort development finally laid to rest Friday morning.  A solemn reburial ceremony took place at a memorial park outside the resort in Yona to honor the ancestors and ask for their forgiveness. 

Eleven ancestral remains unearthed during Pago Bay Resort’s development back in 2007 were finally given their peace.  "With much respect, we honor our ancestors whom we have disturbed and ask for their forgiveness as we lay them back to rest in this solemn location," announced Patrick Lujan, Guam's state historic preservation officer.

The remains wrapped in muslin cloth and placed in woven baskets were reinterred in a memorial park just outside the resort. Lujan continued, "It took some time for us to doing the reburial ceremony, but we’re here and we’re happy. It’s been about 15 years since they were unearthed and they were in storage. Over the last couple of months we really worked hard to get this done in partnership with the developer."

The resort has been mired in controversy for over a decade, since the original plans for a high-rise condo was met with public outcry.  Grassroots advocacy group Save Southern Guam took developer Wanfang Construction and the Guam Land Use Commission to court back in 2016. 

In 2018, the commission ended up revoking their permits. But still, today is a great day for Pago Bay resident Adrian Gogue, a member of Save Southern Guam.  "I don’t want to take away from today’s event. It’s a glorious day in our island’s history," he shared. "This is a long time coming. I want to offer my deepest respects to the descendants of the ancestors who were reinterred here. And I look forward to spreading the word about responsible development because this certainly falls in that area where we have to reinter our ancestors."

Gogue adds the group will release a letter sometime next week, hoping for responsible development moving forward.