The corner near the Hagatna Bridge has been designated as a site to rebury ancestral remains unearthed during federal highway projects conducted more than a decade ago.

The Department of Parks and Recreation has scheduled a reburial for March 31 at the site across the Chief Kepuha Park.

The site is the same location that Attorney General Doug Moylan has already placed a billboard for his latest homeless campaign.

This led to DPR Director Angel Sablan requesting the AG remove the billboard.

“After years of planning, the area across the street from the bridge has been designated as the most appropriate location for their respectful reinterment,” said Sablan in the letter to the AG. “Given the historical and cultural significance of this reburial, we request your assistance in facilitating the prompt removal of the billboard.”

Sablan stated the billboard must be removed no later than Monday, March 24 to allow them time to prepare the site.

Sablan tells KUAM the reburial project has been funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

But the request did not sit well with AG Moylan who replied that the Hagatna Mayor authorized this billboard location since 2023.

“Before considering this request, please provide all information supporting this cemetery location, including statutory authority, public notices, records of community input, legislation and findings made by your Department or the Guam State Historic Preservation Office,” said Moylan. “The Department and the Governor should not be using uninterred ancestral remains as a political tool to undermine this AG’s ability to convey messages to our client, the People of Guam.”

The AG also requested to hear from the Historical Preservation Officer how this site was chosen over alternatives, to include how the agency determined that placing remains next to one of Guam’s busiest intersections complies with their “guidelines of dignity, public accessibility, and proper memorialization.”