Autopsy of EJK victims pushed

MANILA, Philippines — Recalling the police killing of teenager Kian delos Santos on Aug. 16, 2017, Sen. Francis Pangilinan again pushed for the mandatory autopsy of people who died under questionable circumstances.

Prevailing civil registry rules already require autopsies of those who died under questionable circumstances but Pangilinan’s proposal would make it a matter of law even if the next of kin waive an autopsy.

“The original purpose of this measure is to help investigate the increasing daily killings way back in 2017,” said Pangilinan, who had proposed a similar measure two years ago.

Under the bill, autopsies will be mandated for deaths resulting from the commission of crimes; deaths with an unidentifiable cause; deaths under suspicious circumstances; deaths occurring from violence or trauma; operative and perioperative deaths not readily explainable by prior disease; deaths where the body remains unidentified or unclaimed; deaths in prison or in police custody; and deaths of persons  to be cremated, buried at sea, or any other form that may render them unavailable to future examinations.

The autopsy can only be conducted by  board-certified forensic pathologists, such as government health officers, medical officers of law enforcement agencies and the medical staff of accredited hospitals.