8 cadavers expected to be autopsied by next week, says BuCor exec

Eight bodies of inmates at the Eastern Funeral Homes are expected to be autopsied by next week, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Friday.

Ma. Cecilia Villanueva, director of the BuCor Health and Welfare Services, said there are currently 42 bodies at the Eastern Funeral Homes, including inmates who passed away as of December 1, Thursday.

“Presently, we have only 42 bodies at Eastern. Eight of them will soon be autopsied through the ones we were talking with Dr. Fortun,” Villanueva said during an ambush interview.

“The NBI chose the bodies. They did not require autopsy for the bodies that were already autopsied,” she added.

According to Villanueva, most of the bodies passed away in October.

“Dra. Fortun is requesting for more recent deaths to be autopsied and they are the ones… and they died October,” she said.

Villanueva said this may take place by next week.

“By next week because we are just processing the papers and by next week we will be sending them to UP,” she said.

Meanwhile, asked if BuCor has received the families’ consent, she said the Department of Justice (DOJ) has authorized BuCor to conduct an autopsy.

“The DOJ has given a directive giving authority to BuCor that the bodies be autopsied and most of them are unclaimed bodies,” she said.

A total of 140 PDLs out of the 176 bodies that were left at the Eastern Funeral Homes, the solely accredited funeral home of the Bureau of Corrections, have been buried. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News