Shut-down QC funeral homes defend establishments' cleanliness

Owners of the funeral homes shut down by the Quezon City Health Department defended their respective establishment's cleanliness on Friday and denied having the viscera seen in earlier reports by GMA News.

 

Cinco Estrellas Memorial Chapels Inc. president Cora dela Cruz Alora said on "Balitanghali" Saturday that the formaldehyde and organs found around their mortuary were about to be disposed of when officials performed a surprise inspection last Tuesday.

 

"Regarding naman dun sa timba, it so happens na hindi agad natapon ng aking embalmer at bigla silang dumating, nakita lang nila iyon. Pero formalin lang naman nila iyon," said Alora.

 

The 60-year-old business was allegedly awaiting the necessary permits from city hall in order to bury a fetus found floating in a jar of formalin during the inspection that led to their closure.

 

Alora went on to point out the drainage, air conditioning units, and personal protective equipment inside their embalming and dressing rooms, as well as copies of their business permits.

 

Other than sanitary rules, Cinco and four other funeral homes also allegedly violated regulations on drainage and waste disposal, and disregarded the safety of its workers by allowing them to work without protective gear.

 

All of the funeral homes were also found operating without renewed business permits, the report said.

 

"Na-witness niyo naman. Hindi ko rin alam ito. Marumi ba? Marumi ba iyong lugar? Talagang gusto kong depensahan kasi maging natural sana tayo, maging totoo sana tayo sa nakikita natin," RPL Memorial Services owner Reynaldo Labrador said.

 

However, both RPL and Villamor Funeral Services admitted that they were working on obtaining their sanitary permits, while Grace Memorial Service only recently submitted papers for business and locational permits.

 

"For compliance kami. Kung anong gusto nila, yun ang gagawin namin," Grace assistant operations manager Rommel Atanacio said.

 

Urban Funeral Homes earlier claimed that it possessed all necessary permits for operation.

 

The five funeral homes barely passed any of the requirements for operation during their last inspection in February, a "24 Oras" report said last Tuesday. — Rie Takumi/GMA News