The Investigation Committee of the Municipal Cemetery ‘Parque del Descanso Eterno’ in Calp held its first meeting yesterday, attended by representatives of all the political groups in the council.
At the November plenary session, the City Council agreed to set up a committee to investigate possible cases of illegal exhumation of niches in the municipal cemetery without the consent of the legal heirs.
This Commission, chaired by the councillor for the Eternal Rest Park, Marco Bittner, is made up of government councillors and representatives of each municipal group as well as municipal technicians. The objective is to clarify possible irregularities in the management of funeral concessions and transfers of remains that took place during the period 2010-2016. The Commission has established the basis for its operation and has agreed on a comprehensive work plan.
Among the agreements reached in this first session, the periodicity of the sessions stands out, as it has been unanimously agreed to meet on a quarterly basis, with extraordinary sessions being held when the progress of the investigation so requires.
As a first measure of transparency, all members have been given a technical report, prepared by the person in charge of the municipal cemetery, which details the procedures and records of the transfers carried out in the aforementioned period. The preliminary report identifies approximately 45 cases of individual transfers that require review, although this figure is not definitive as the Commission will carry out an exhaustive screening to determine which ones were really inappropriate according to the regulations in force at the time. This document will serve as the basis for the Commission's analytical work.
The Commission has approved a research plan that includes an exhaustive review of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to funeral concessions and an analysis of the administrative procedures followed for notifications and transfers. In addition, the Commission will evaluate the organisational chart of responsibilities and actors involved in the decision-making of the entire procedure and a comparative study will be carried out with the practices and regulations of other similar municipalities.
The preliminary analysis of the data has made it possible to identify certain patterns that will be the subject of special attention, such as the concentration of transfers in certain periods (especially in 2012 and during 2015), as well as the possible existence of selective criteria such as nationality in the choice of the niches affected.
Another issue addressed by the Commission is that of reparation. The Commission has begun to study possible reparation measures for the families affected, considering different options that will be specified in upcoming sessions.
The chairperson of the Commission has stated: ‘Our commitment is to carry out a rigorous and transparent work that clarifies what happened and establishes the corresponding responsibilities. We also seek to ensure that similar situations do not happen again, reinforcing the protocols and municipal regulations if necessary.’
The Commission invites any citizen who has relevant information on this matter to contact the Municipal Secretariat, which will set up a specific channel to receive testimonies and documentation related to the investigation. The next meeting is scheduled for June 2025, when an initial progress report with preliminary conclusions will be presented.