Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13) — The Quezon City Council passed an ordinance Monday afternoon imposing penalties on funeral parlors and crematoriums refusing to accept remains of a COVID-19 related death.
That’s P5,000 per violation and subsequent revocation of business permit.
COVID-19 related deaths include confirmed, probable, and suspected coronavirus cases, and those that are respiratory-related.
“No funeral parlor and crematorium may refuse to accept the remains of a COVID-19 related death due to fear of infection or other unjustifiable reasons,” the proposal stated.
Funeral parlors or crematoriums will also be barred from raising service fees more than the rates before the declaration of community quarantine on March 12.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said she will sign the proposed local law.
“Actually this measure is an executive measure so of course we will sign it,” Belmonte told CNN Philippines.
Councilor Peachy De Leon, a principal author of the ordinance, said there is a city government-operated facility, the Baesa Crematorium but it can only cremate eight remains per day.
The city has at least three private crematoriums.
“We will be coming up with a memorandum of agreement with private crematoriums na they will be doing the cremation also for the COVID-related cadavers,” said De Leon.
Managing the unclaimed remains
De Leon said the measure also sets guidelines on managing unclaimed remains.
Based on the ordinance, the remains must be cremated within 12 hours after death.
“Pag COVID-related, merong protocol on how to handle it. Hindi mo pwede basta i-open yung body bag. It has to be cremated right away. No cleaning, no whatsoever,” De Leon said.
[Translation: There’s a protocol in handling COVID-related cases. You just can’t open the body bag]
This move comes after reports of alleged piling up of remains in some government hospitals in the city.
As of Monday morning, East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) spokesperson Dr. Dennis Ordoña reported 13 remains are still in the hospital including 12 probable COVID-19 cases.
EAMC morgue can only accommodate five remains.
But the hospital recently received a donated refrigerated van as a temporary storage facility.
“We do not know full capacity (of the refrigerator van) yet. We are coordinating with the COVID implementing team for the guidelines since the equipment is new to us,” Ordoño SAId.
Earlier, the local government reported that the Lung Center of the Philippines has 12 more bodies.
But the hospital administration clarified that the problem was resolved.
Cremation cost
For those from poor families, the Quezon City government will shoulder all cremation expenses for COVID-19 related cases.
For non- residents, Quezon City will coordinate with the family and the local government concerned.
“Siyempre it will start with the family. We will let the family know of the protocol then sasabihan ang LGU, for example Caloocan. We will be telling them that there’s a body here na it died in Quezon City but is residing in Caloocan. And then magkakaroon ng agreement na they should be the one to handle or manage the body,” De Leon said.
[Translation: Of course it will start with the family. We will let the family know of the protocol then we will inform the local government unit, for example Caloocan. We will be telling them that there’s a body here, it died in Quezon City but is residing in Caloocan. And then there will be an agreement that they should be the one to handle or manage the body.]
In case the concerned local government is unable to fetch and process the remains of its resident, it may then ask the Quezon City government to take care of it.
“Pwede namang mayroong coordination na ike-cremate na lang dito sa Quezon City. That’s also allowed,” De Leon said.
Cremation in private crematoriums may cost from P40,000 up to P90,000.
