Manila funeral parlor closed due to pile of decomposing bodies

A funeral parlor in Santa Cruz, Manila was shut down on Wednesday after authorities found piles of decomposing cadavers inside its premises.  

According to Mark Salazar’s exclusive report in “24 Oras”, the Manila Sanitary Department and the Manila North Cemetery found that Body and Light Funeral Services does not have the necessary documentation to operate, including a sanitary permit. 

“Walang permit, walang sanitary permit, wala ring office permit actually,” said Daniel Tan of Manila North Cemetery. 

(They don’t have permits such as a sanitary permit or even an office permit.) 

Video from the Manila Sanitary Department showed that the small office of the funeral parlor also serves as the living room of the owner’s family. Just a few steps from the kitchen and dining space is the morgue where stacks of bodies were found piled at a corner. 

Footage showed a new cadaver that was about to be embalmed was just lying on a bed instead of being secured in a cold storage. 

“Banta sa kalusugan dahil unang-una, inembalsamo doon sa lugar na ‘yun. Dapat ventilated, naka-tiles po siya nang malinaw,  tapos wala amoy, may mga stainless na staka ng mga cadaver kung gagawin po, ayun po talaga ang proper. Tapos [dapat] may refrigerator,” said Manila City District Sanitary Inspector Gilbert de Guzman. 

(This is a health hazard because they are embalming the bodies inside. The space must be ventilated, the tiles are clean, there should be no foul odor, and bodies must be placed in a stainless steel container. That’s the proper way. The cadavers must also be inside a refrigerator.) 

As a a result, authorities confiscated the 10 cadavers from the said funeral parlor and transferred them to other morgues. Personnel retrieving the bodies had to endure the foul smell while bringing out the remains, according to the report. 

However, the owner of the funeral parlor said they were never bothered by the smell coming from the bodies stacked inside their house. 

“Pero wala naman pong, hindi naman po abot dito, diyan lang,” said business owner Anjanette Bascuguin. 

(I don’t think we smelled anything bad here. It didn’t reach where we were staying.) 

Further, two of the 10 cadavers have already decomposed in formalin solution as they have been unrefrigeratedsince April, the report added. 

“Ang gusto namin malaman yung mga pangalan para mapanawagan namin yung pamilya. Nang sa ganun mabigyan namin ng maayos na burol, maayos na libing. Sasagutin naman ng City of Manila ‘yan kung anong kailangan. Kung kailangan ng maburol, mabigyan ng casket, ng malilibingan, gagawin po namin,” said Tan. 

(We want to identify these bodies so we can reach out to their families. We also want to give them a proper burial. The City of Manila will shoulder whatever they need from burial, caskets, we will provide everything.) 

For her part, the owner of the funeral parlor admitted having problems with their permits. 

“Ang problema po kasi is yung sa permit lang po…yung work po, walang permit,” said Bascuguin. 

(The problem is the permit, especially for work.) 

Funeral parlors can seek the pauper’s burial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development for unclaimed bodies, the report said.  But the Manila North Cemetery warned that such action could be an example of sketchy operations of fly-by-night funeral parlors. 

“Kulang kasi sila ng permit. Ang ginagawa namin para hindi maapektuhan ‘yung mga pamilya, papayagan namin silang pumasok. Pero kapag nailibing na nila, iho-hold namin yung karo nila, hahanapan sila ng papeles.  Kapag wala sila nakuhang papeles, papa-pirmahin namin sila na voluntary nila iniwan yung karo nila dahil wala silang lisensya,” said Tan. 

(They don’t have the necessary permits. What we do so as not to inconvenience the families, was to allow them to view the body. But after the burial, we will hold the hearse until they provide the necessary documents. If they cannot provide the needed papers, they have to leave the hearse with us.) 

However, the funeral parlor denied that it was trying to avail of the DSWD’s burial assistance for the unclaimed bodies. 

The 10 bodies will be buried in the Manila North Cemetery, the report said. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News