EVEN dead people have a right to protection, especially from unscrupulous people who would desecrate and steal from their remains.
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has filed House Bill No. 1239 which proposes stiff penalties and jail time for individuals who mutilate the dead or loot their belongings during or in the aftermath of natural or man-made calamities.
“We hope to stir the country’s consciousness on the sanctity of the human body,” the former president said in her explanatory note.
Arroyo cited several acts of desecration she wanted punished with a fine of up to P100,000 and lifetime imprisonment if the perpetrator was a government official.
Arroyo said possession of the property or organs of a victim shall be considered an aggravating circumstance for such crimes. TVJ