Funeral homes rejecting deceased COVID-19 patients should be penalized -IATF

Funeral parlors refusing to handle the remains of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients should be penalized, according to the government body supervising the Philippines’ efforts to contain the spread of the virus.


In a resolution passed on Tuesday, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) said the local government units (LGUs) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) should monitor the actions of the funeral homes.

The task force also said the LGUs and the DILG must punish funeral homes that did not provide logistics and transport COVID-19 fatalities including but not limited to refusal to pick up the remains.

The resolution did not indicate the specific penalties for the offenses.

LGUs should designate funeral service facilities to handle the remains and to provide possible financial assistance to cover the logistics, fuel, salary and other expenses, the IATF said.

By GMA News Online