Senator Raffy Tulfo has filed a measure seeking to provide free funeral services to poor families nationwide.
Tulfo, in filing Senate Bill No. 1695 or the proposed “Free Funeral Services Act,” noted there are many Filipino families cannot bear the cost of funeral and burial services in the country.
Many poor families, he noted, equate death to a crippling amount of debt and evidently, a heavy burden for those left behind.
In the country, Tulfo said the cost of funeral and burial services can range from P10,000 to hundreds of thousands of pesos and as such many poor families are not only wracked with grief but also deep financial stress.
Such situation, he noted, may even lead them to borrow funds from lenders who charge with high-interest rates.
While the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a burial assistance program which provides up to P10,000 worth of benefits, Tulfo said he finds it necessary to institutionalize the program.
“This bill seeks to institutionalize a provision of burial assistance that offers free funeral services to the extremely poor nationwide,” Tulfo said in the explanatory note of the bill.
“This benefit shall include the preparation of funeral documents, embalming, viewing, burial or cremation,” he said.
“Moreover, accredited mortuaries shall provide a casket or urn,” the senator further said.
The bill covers families whose combined gross income does not exceed P15,000 per month, does not own realy property or a vehicle.
A family who wish to avail of free funeral services would be required to submit a copy of a certificate of indigency issued by the barangay or the local social welfare office of their respective local government unit (LGU).
Mortuaries granting free services, on the other hand, may seek reimbursement for the cost of services from any regional office of the DSWD upon approval of the regional director.
The DSWD, under the measure, would be the lead agency in the implementation of the provisions of the proposed law and shall engage in the funeral services of mortuaries in the country.