Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Libing

Izzy Lee

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754035353116cropped-20250801080820_9e8d480bb8291fd38ca062abf8195f8a10bd7f6c5a0b9988496a15add821d3d4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">It took more than three months after her mother’s death before she was finally able to claim the body and have it cremated. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — For more than three months, Lourdes and her family grieved in silence. They lit candles at home and offered prayers while her mother’s remains sat in a funeral parlor because of a bill they couldn’t afford to pay.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/31/unlicensed-manila-funeral-home-shut-down-corpses-held-for-months-over-unpaid-fees-1317">Unlicensed Manila funeral home shut down; corpses held for months over unpaid fees</a></div><p>Her mother died in April 2025, due to strangulation inside a home in Malate.</p><p>According to Lourdes, her body was brought by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) to a funeral parlor in Sta. Cruz, Manila. </p><p>&quot;Hindi po kami &#x27;yung nagdala sa punerarya, contact po &#x27;yun ng SOCO,&quot; Lourdes said.</p><p>The family was shocked when they were handed a funeral bill amounting to P125,000.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yung gagawin po sakanya, &#x27;yung autopsy niya, tapos ire-restore daw po siya, P45,000 po &#x27;yung pagbalik sa kanya, tapos mga ginamit daw po kay Mama,&quot; she said.</p><p>Over the weeks, they managed to raise P79,000 by seeking help from anyone they could, which they paid as an initial installment in May.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yun nga po gawa ng wala po kaming pera naghanap po kami ng malalapitan. Kung saan-saan na po kami naghanap para makalikom. Hanggang sa nagbigay na po kami, hanggang sa ayaw pa rin po nilang ibigay si Mama kasi hindi pa rin po kami fully-paid,&quot; she said.</p><p>There came a point when she began to doubt the funeral parlor, noticing the lack of proper equipment and facilities.</p><p>&quot;Nung sinilip ko si Mama nung i-autopsy, wala po talaga akong nakitang ano, lagayan ng mga patay. Sabi nila nasa freezer raw si Mama,&quot; she said.</p><p>It took more than three months after her mother’s death before she was finally able to claim the body and have it cremated.</p><p>&quot;Sobrang gumaan po &#x27;yung pakiramdam ko na makapagpapahinga na si mama nang maayos,&quot; she said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>BODIES RECOVERED</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>On July 30, the Manila City Government inspected the funeral home and recovered ten bodies, which were found stacked on top of each other and wrapped in plastic.</p><p>The establishment was shut down for operating without a business and sanitation permit.</p><p>The local government has also committed to shoulder the burial or cremation costs for the recovered bodies.</p><p>One of the other bodies recovered from the same funeral parlor belonged to a canteen helper who was killed in April 2025 in Barangay 659, Ermita.</p><p>According to Barangay Chairman Nestor Malabag, the police turned over the body to the same Sta. Cruz funeral home.</p><p>It was later brought to their barangay for a week-long wake, but the funeral home eventually took the body back.</p><p>&quot;Nakaburol po dito tapos nabasag &#x27;yung salamin (ng ataol) then nung mabasag &#x27;yung salamin, itinawag sa punerarya. Ginawa ng punerarya tinawag diyan, ang alam ko di na po ni-release,&quot; Malabag said.</p><p>The funeral home reclaimed the body due to unpaid fees. With no known relatives, the man&#x27;s employer stepped in to settle the bill.</p><p>&quot;Inabot po ng P75,000. &#x27;Yung una nung makakalap po sila ng P70,000 ay nakikiusap sila na baka pwede nang ipalibing. Eh hindi po pumayag &#x27;yung may ari ng punerarya dahil dun sa P75k po nadagdagan po. Inabot po ng P115,000,&quot; he said.</p><p>But since the employer could no longer pay the additional balance, the body ended up being held by the funeral home.</p><p>On July 31, Malabag went to the Manila North Cemetery to bury the man.</p><p>During Mayor Isko Moreno&#x27;s Facebook Live on July 30, he implied that some police officers may have favored the funeral home because of its steep charges.</p><p>&quot;May ilang pulis, gustong gusto dyan kasi kung makapaningil yan. Kung ano ang pangalan niyan, siyang bigat ng mahal maningil niyan,&quot; Moreno said.</p><p>&quot;Mga lespu ha, wag niyo nang hayaan na kayo naman ang ilagay ko sa kanan ko. Hirap na nga, namatayan na nga, pinahihirapan pa natin, nagdadalamhati na,&quot; he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PROTOCOL</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Manila Police District spokesperson Maj. Philipp Ines explained that when a body is found, investigators and the forensic unit are dispatched to process the scene.</p><p>If a funeral service is available at the time, they are the ones tapped to retrieve the body.</p><p>&quot;Wala kasi tayong hold dun, kung sino &#x27;yung available binibigay natin sakanila. Nakalagay naman sa report yun san dinala yung remains ng tao,&quot; Ines said.</p><p>They also said that the relatives have the option to transfer the body, but if no family members are present, the authorities rely on whichever funeral service is available.</p><p>&quot;Ang presumption natin legal &#x27;to kasi nag-o-operate sila dito. Ang satin dito, dapat malaman ito ng ating local government kung ito bang nag-o-operate dito ay legal o hindi,&quot; he said.</p><p>The MPD said that following the incident, they have coordinated with the local government to identify the list of legitimate funeral service providers operating in the city.</p><p>The Manila LGU said it will inspect all funeral homes operating in the city.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ifkuj6Pb7Xs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>During Mayor Isko Moreno's Facebook Live, he implied that some police officers may have favored the funeral home because of its steep charges.</p>

During Mayor Isko Moreno's Facebook Live, he implied that some police officers may have favored the funeral home because of its steep charges.

2 bodies finally laid to rest after months in unlicensed funeral home in Sta. Cruz, Manila

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2 bodies finally laid to rest after months in unlicensed funeral home in Sta. Cruz, Manila

Izzy Lee,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 01, 2025 04:13 PM PHT

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