“Ito namang may ari ng crematorium, may I ask you to maintain ‘yong presyo ng cremation before quarantine,” he said in a television address Thursday night.
[Translation: To all the owners of crematoriums, may I ask you to maintain the price of cremation before quarantine.]
Duterte urged the business owners to maintain their regular fees they had before the pandemic struck the country.
“Nakikiusap ako tutal negosyo ‘yan eh,” he said. “Kumikita kayo ng pera na sinusunog ‘yong katawan. Ngayon kung taasan ninyo ang presyo, iiwan ko ‘yang patay diyan sa inyo.”
[Translation: I am asking you since it’s a business. You earn every time a body is cremated. If you increase the price, I will leave the remains to you.]
On Tuesday, the Department of Interior and Local Government ordered local government units to have designated crematoriumsdesignated crematoriums to accommodate COVID-19 related deaths.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 16) — President Rodrigo Duterte asked crematorium owners not to increase their fees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Quezon City Council also passed an ordinance on Monday imposing penalties on funeral parlors and crematoriums who refuse to accept the remains who those who have died of the viral disease.
As of Thursday, the country has 5,660 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 435 recoveries, and 362 deaths, according to the Health department.
