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Senator Nancy Binay on Monday has asked the government to establish protocols in handling fatalities connected to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The government should extend assistance to the grieving families of those who died from the disease, and to protect them from crematoriums that may take advantage of the situation, to alleviate the burden of the victim's family.
Binay said in a statement, the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) should address the “lack of clear protocol” in handling coronavirus-related fatalities, including the management, storage, cremation of the cadaver, as well as the giving of assistance to families.
There was no clear guidelines in the management of coronavirus fatalities in the country so far. This must be addressed by the government task force supervising the COVID response,
“It may sound morbid, pero kailangan din i-address ng IATF yung mga hinaharap na problema ng mga pamilyang namatayan dahil sa COVID-19,” she said in a statement.
“The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) should immediately address the lack of clear protocol in handling COVID-related fatalities, including cadaver management, storage, cremation and financial assistance to families,” she said.
She said families of those who died from the virus are having a hard time securing death certificates because some local government units (LGU) do not know how to handle patients if they died inside their home.
She also added that some LGUs also do not know how to properly handle the bodies which can no longer be accommodated in mortuary freezers and crematoriums.
“Sa ngayon pa lang, sana iresolba na natin ito. Ano ang pwede nating magawang ayuda sa mga pamilya?” she said.
“Paano kung walang-wala? Paano ang pambayad sa punerarya para sa cremation? Sino ang mag-aasikaso ng mga requirement? Paano na kung wala na gustong tumanggap na crematorium?” she added.
The lawmaker also revealed that she received reports that some private crematoriums are asking for P100,000 for the cremation of the remains of COVID-19 fatality.
“Sa nangyayari sa buong mundo ngayon, it’s never a good time to die. Malungkot at wala kang karamay. Di ka makapagpaalam man lang sa iyong mga mahal sa buhay. Wala kang last rites, or proper burial. Kaya nakakagalit yung meron kang mababalitaang mga nananamantala para pagkakitaan ang pamilyang namatayan,” Binay said.
As mentioned in the DSWD Revised Guidelines on Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situations for burial assistance, the agency will shoulder part of the funeral cost and the family can receive up to P10,000 assistance even if they do not submit a case study report.
There are only 60 crematoriums operating nationwide as of 2020, 90% of which are privately-owned, and 25 out of 60 are in Metro Manila, according to the senator.
Out of 60, only six, which are in Manila, Pasay, Mandaluyong, QC, Dasmarinas City, and Antipolo City, are publicly-owned and are mostly operated by the local government. And only five of those are operational which can only accommodate three to five cadavers a day.
As of April 6, the country has recorded 3,246 cases of coronavirus. At least 152 people died from the infection while 64 patients have recovered.
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