ILOILO – Following the slowdown of operations of the Gegato-Abecia Funeral Parlor and Crematorium in Iloilo City since the first week of August, the local government unit (LGU) of San Joaquin town has been burying its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fatalities on the ground.
“More than five na ang nalubong. Umpisa bala ‘tong nag-untat sa pagbaton ang Abeci,a amo man to pagtaas sang kaso sang San Joaquin,” said 1st District Provincial Board member Marcelo Valentine Serag, also the designated incident commander of the Local Task Force on COVID-19 in San Joaquin.
The LGU designated a vacant lot within the premises of the new public cemetery as the burial ground for pandemic fatalities.
The area is far from residences.
HOW IS THE DEAD BURIED?
According to Serag, the LGU entered into a memorandum of agreement with two funeral parlors in the town to handle the burial of COVID casualties.
“Ginabayaran sila (funeral homes) sang LGU sang P10,000 kada tawo ukon patay,” said Serag.
Only the dead from poor families who cannot afford cremation are interred in the burial site.
“Kon ang pamilya wala ikasarang magpa-cremate, ginatawgan sang LGU ang funeral parlor para magkuha sang bangkay kag ginapalubong dayun within 12 hours,” said Serag.
The funeral home personnel must be equipped with personal protective equipment. The cadaver must also be properly placed in a sealed casket.
When it comes to the depth of the grave, Serag said a backhoe is used to dig in compliance with the guidelines of the National Inter-Agency Task Force and the Department of Health (DOH).
Personnel from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) are present during burials.
Serag said before they identified the burial site, it was checked by DOH personnel and their own medical team.
When Panay News asked the DOH in Region 6 for a comment, the agency said LGUs should only follow this burial procedure stipulated in the Department of Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular 2020-063 issued in March 2020 by Secretary Eduardo Año:
PROCEDURE FOR BURIAL
* Remains shall be placed in a sealed casket.
* Remains shall not be taken to any place of public assembly. Viewing of the deceased shall not be permitted.
* Burial permit from the city/municipality where the deceased will be buried shall be secured by the next kin.
* No remains shall be buried within the 25-meter radius of any residential area.
* The grave shall be at least one and one half meters deep and filled well and firmly.
* No remains shall be buried in a grave where water table is less than two meter deep from the natural ground surface.
* No human remains shall be exhumed within five years from the cadaver’s burial unless otherwise provided by (designated representative of DOH) when in his opinion the exhumation of the remains will not endanger the lives of the people.
* In every exhumation, the human remains must be done in the presence of the Local Health Officer, disinfected and places in a suitable and hermetically sealed container./PN