THE Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said the US government will provide $5 million in funding for the rehabilitation of the Clark Veterans Cemetery at the old Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga as part of an agreement inked by the Philippines and the US.
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said the memorandum of understanding regarding the restoration, operation and maintenance of the seven-hectare cemetery was signed by Arnel Paciano Casanova, president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, and US Ambassador Philip Goldberg.
The MOU which will be implemented by the BCDA and the American Battle Monuments Commission also provides the cooperation framework on the approval of new burials aside from the upkeep of the cemetery.
The cemetery was established in 1947 for about 8,600 members of the Philippine Scouts who served in the US military and American veterans.
The earliest recorded burial in the cemetery was that of Private Santiago Belona, a Philippine Scout who served in the US military and died on Jan. 12, 1900.
Though located inside the then US air force base, the Philippine government maintains titles to the lands covered by the cemetery.
The cemetery suffered damage when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991 but in 1994, the US Veterans for Foreign Wars Post2485 stepped forward to help undo the damage, with its members helping remove overgrown vegetation and ash.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/clark-military-cemetery-be-rehabilitated
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