COVID-19 casualties a priority in crematoriums — Tumulak
With burial spaces in the city already full, local officials are advising family members of deceased individuals who did not die of COVID-19 to forego cremation plans and opt for burials instead.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak is urging the family members of deceased individuals who did not die of COVID-19 not to cremate the bodies.
He said that there is a long line of waiting bodies in the only two crematoriums in the city because these facilities are prioritizing COVID-19 casualties.
In order to decongest the crematoriums, Tumulak urged the families of non-COVID-19 deceased individuals to choose burials instead.
Dr. Alice Marie Aycardo, the Cadaver Division head of the City Health Department (CHD), said that the line in the crematoriums is a natural effect of prioritizing COVID-19 casualties.
“Nagline ta sa cremation, it’s not because of COVID deaths. It’s because of deaths that are not COVID. We only have two crematoriums although naa pud uban facilities nga willing. We have to prioritize them because it’s in the guidelines,” she said.
The Interagency Task Force (IATF) mandates that COVID-19 casualties be cremated or buried within 12 to 24 hours after death.
According to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), at least 78 individuals died of COVID-19 in July 2021 causing the lack of burial space and long lines at crematoriums.
Aycardo said that the urban cemeteries are as of now full, which is why all burials are redirected to the mountain barangays.
She said this will have to do as the exhumation of old remains in the urban cemeteries could not catch up with the rise of deaths in the city.
However, the cemeteries declared to the CHD that this August 2021, there will be 171 exhumations expected from 5 major cemeteries including the Carreta Catholic Cemetery, Carreta Public Cemetery, Calamba Cemetery, Talamban Cemetery, and Mabolo Cemetery.
Councilor Tumulak said this is a good development because space will free up within the next few weeks.
Yet for now, the public has no choice but to bury their dead in the mountain barangays’ cemeteries.
“As of now, wala gyod tay choice. Kailangan nato ilang pagsabot kay puno pa atong sementeryo karon,” said Tumulak.
Meanwhile, Tumulak said that in a meeting with the mortuaries in the city, they agreed to limit the price of basic burials to P17,000 to P20,000 to help those struggling to bury their dead amid the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ). /rcg
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