BCDA gets additional P100M to redevelop national cemetery
THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it has received an additional P100 million from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) to redevelop the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
In a statement Tuesday, the state-owned agency said it has signed a supplemental memorandum of agreement with PVAO for the transfer of the funds which will be used for the first phase of the Comprehensive Master Development Plan for the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“The development is aimed at transforming Libingan ng mga Bayani into a world-class National Military Shrine and Cemetery for soldiers, leaders, and heroes, who have served the nation with honor and dignity,” the BCDA said.
The project includes the construction of a history theme park and a memorial shrine.
The P100 million comes on top of the P356 million the PVAO forwarded to BCDA on Dec. 22 last year.
Formerly the Republic Memorial Cemetery, the Libingan ng mga Bayani was established in 1947 as a tribute to the war dead of the Second World War.
In the 1960s, President Ferdinand E. Marcos set aside 142 hectares of the Fort Bonifacio military reservation to be part of the cemetery. This established it as the official national shrine for heroes and prominent Filipinos who have served in government.
The cemetery is available as a final resting place for military personnel who died in the line of duty or who were honorably discharged.
Former Philippine presidents, veterans, statesmen, and national artists and scientists, among other dignitaries, are also entitled to be buried there. —