The tub inside Henry Memorial Services where more bodies were found on Thursday. —JHESSET O. ENANO
Carrying out a grim task for the third consecutive day, Quezon City health officials found more bodies at a funeral home in La Loma that they had shut down for keeping over 300 corpses under unsanitary conditions.
From a six-feet-long tub filled with murky liquid, the bodies of six men were retrieved on Thursday. Estimated to be in their 30s, they had long incisions stretching from the chest to the stomach that had been stitched shut, a sign that they may have been autopsied.
“It is very conclusive that these bodies have been opened,” city health officer Dr. Verdades Linga said of the latest findings at Henry Memorial Services on A. Bonifacio Avenue.
If these men had died of ordinary causes, their bodies should not have been cut open, she added.
“The National Bureau of Investigation should have their records, as well as the funeral homes which offered their services,” she said.
At least two men had marks that looked like stab or gunshot wounds while one had a visible tattoo on his back.
“If these are stab or gunshot wounds, we need medico-legal papers or statements from Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) or from Camp Karingal as proof,” Linga said, referring to the Quezon City Police District. “But right now, we cannot say for certain because there are no documents in this funeral home.”
Linga went on to ask: “Where is the SOCO? They should not have waited for us to call them; this is all over the news.”
PO3 Regan Cuarto, case investigator from La Loma police, said only experts and supporting documents could determine how the men died. “It is very hard to establish but these can be subjected to an investigation,” he told the Inquirer.
The six bodies, however, were among those buried Thursday afternoon at Novaliches public cemetery, along with 90 others that were found earlier at the funeral home.
In their three visits to the establishment since Tuesday, more than 300 rotting bodies have been discovered, some showing signs of having been dissected.
On Wednesday, around 200 of these were buried in a mass grave seven feet deep and measuring 230 meters by 250 meters.
Health officials also found around 10 fetuses submerged in chemicals inside makeshift containers at the establishment.
When authorities first inspected it on Tuesday, they found the corpses in varying stages of decomposition and stocked in body bags. Flies, rats, and cockroaches were all over the place which was enveloped in a stench of decay so overpowering even residents more than a block away complained of the foul smell.
No cases filed yet
Civil registrar Ramon Matabang said that so far, no cases have been filed against the establishment owner, Oscar Parales and its manager, Severino Mancia. Both men have yet to come forward to give their side to authorities.
“We urge the funeral homes which availed themselves of the establishment’s services to surface, bring the documents of their dead and work with us and the police so we can file a complaint,” he said.
Dr. Maria Lourdes Eleria of the city health department’s sanitation division said they would coordinate with the police for the filing of appropriate charges and the issuance of warrants.
Despite a closure order issued in September, Henry Memorial Services reportedly continued to receive bodies for processing although it lacked the necessary permits.
“The establishment should have not been situated in a residential area, or near schools,” Eleria said, adding that zoning laws should have been considered, as well as sanitary, environmental, and fire concerns.
Records, however, showed that the funeral home was granted a permit to operate last year.
More inspections
The incident has prompted local officials to conduct a check on more of these establishments in Quezon City.
The health department said that 59 out of 60 had already been inspected by sanitation inspectors, resulting in the issuance of cease and desist orders against the following: Maven Funeral Homes and Urban Funeral Services, both on Commonwealth Avenue, for noncompliance with the sanitary code; Villamor Funeral Services in Bagbag; Saint Rich Funeral Services and Grace Memorial Services, both in Paang Bundok; Loyola Memorial Chapel on Commonwealth Avenue; and two Tajuna Funeral Service facilities in Litex and Commonwealth.