IN the Philippines, dying has become as “costly as living itself,” a party-list group said, so it is pushing for the passage of a measure granting 50-percent discount from funeral services to indigent families, and granting free funeral services for extremely poor families nationwide.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, citing a survey done on funeral services by the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning in 2005, said the average funeral service package was P25,000, while memorial lots in public and private cemeteries cost an average of P50,000 for lot package including succeeding lease payments.
“This is because most Filipinos already live lives of utter poverty and still die poor and indebted till the end. Funeral services generally are expensive, a stark and difficult reality confronting the large majority of impoverished Filipinos,” he added.
“Decent funeral services include the transport of the corpse, provision of casket, embalming, interment and conduct to the church and/or to the cemetery,” he said.
Traditionally, Zarate said most Filipino families hold the funeral wake at home.
He said the lack of space in many residential areas, however, does not restrict the setting up of funeral wakes even on the sides of the street adjacent to a dead person’s residence.
According to Zarate, there are also instances where a funeral wake lasts for more than a week only because there are not enough funds mainly gathered through donations to cover for the burial expenses incurred.
Under the bill, free funeral services shall be provided for Extremely Poor Families by funeral homes anywhere in the country. The said free services shall be a maximum of two per month per funeral branch, provided that said funeral service does not exceed the cost of the Funeral Home’s minimum funeral service package.
Also, the bill grants a 50-percent discount on funeral services to indigent families by funeral homes anywhere in the country. Such would only be applicable, however, to At-Need funeral services and provided that the funeral service does not exceed the cost of the funeral home’s minimum funeral service package.
The measure said funeral homes granting discounts or free services to indigent beneficiaries or extremely poor beneficiaries may reimburse the cost of the discount from any regional offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development upon the approval of the regional director or convert the same as tax credits, for as long as a proper certification as to the veracity of the claim is certified true and correct by the DSWD.
The bill said the tax credit may be used for a period not exceeding five years from the day the discount was given or from the date appearing in the official receipt.
It said the amount necessary to implement the provisions of this Act shall be charged against the allocation in the General Appropriations Act of the DSWD.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes