Funeral homes refusing deceased COVID-19 patients to be penalized

MANILA, Philippines — Funeral homes refusing to service the remains of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients will be penalized, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) said Wednesday.

IATF-EID spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the local government units (LGUs) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) “shall monitor and penalize funeral homes that refuse to provide logistics and transport of COVID-19 remains.”

Under the task force’s resolution, LGUs will designate funeral service facilities to handle the remains of patients who passed away due to the virus.

Nograles added the LGUs will also provide possible financial assistance to cover the “logistics, fuel, salary and other expenses that will be incurred in the process.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development will provide a funeral support fund of P25,000 per deceased COVID-19 patient or person under investigation (PUI).

In light of this directive, funeral services staff and personnel are exempted from the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

“Funeral companies are directed to provide transportation and, or housing accommodations for funeral service staff,” Nograles added.

Only health workers and other employees of essential establishments are exempted under the strict quarantine measure.

This is to limit the public’s movements as the government addresses the country’s COVID-19 situation.