Mortuaries, funeral homes purchase more freezers to accommodate more bodies

Two mortuary freezers were unloaded at the main branch of Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in downtown Cebu City to address the increasing number of bodies waiting to be cremated or buried.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Mortuaries and funeral homes in Cebu City are purchasing more freezers to store bodies.

This was their response to the Cebu City government’s request to increase their capacity to handle more bodies.

Councilor David Tumulak said a private funeral home, Cosmopolitan, is the first to heed their request.

Tumulak said Cosmopolitan rerouted purchased freezers meant to be sent to their branch in Iloilo City to Cebu City simply because the demand here is higher.

“Nagpasalamat ta because ma address niini ang taas nga linya sa mga naghulat nga lawas sa mga punerarya,” said Tumulak.

The two new freezers can accommodate eight bodies between them. Cosmopolitan also has one existing freezer that has four slots.

They now have a total capacity of 12 bodies in their mortuary.

St. Peters Funeral Homes, another private funeral parlor, also committed to purchasing their own additional freezers, although no specific number has been promised.

Tumulak said he is thankful for the funeral homes that heeded the call of the city government.

The demand for funeral services has increased due to the rising deaths brought by the current COVID-19 surge.

Mortuaries are reminded to prioritize COVID-19 casualties because of the 12-24 hour time period for the bodies to be cremated or buried.

Fortunately, the city expects 171 slots in various cemeteries in the urban areas to accommodate new bodies.

The cemeteries reported that they have scheduled exhumations that would free up space for additional burials.   /rcg

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