Cebu 5th district Rep. Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco (Facebook)

A bill that ensures the availability of decent, cheap caskets and the affordability of funerals in general has finally moved forward in the House of Representatives. 

Deputy Speaker Cebu 5th district Rep. Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco said his measure, House Bill (HB) No.102, has passed deliberations in the House Committee on Trade and Industry. 

Frasco filed the bill way back on June 30, 2022, or the start of the current 19th Congress. "I believe this will help greatly our people," he told this reporter on Wednesday, Nov. 22. 

Under HB No.102 or the proposed "Affordable Casket Act", all funeral establishments shall always maintain the availability of decent caskets that would cost not more than P20,000. 

The scope of the bill was further expanded during the committee deliberations with the P20,000 cap now to include not only caskets but also funeral expenses. 

“In the Philippines, the cost of dying has become a burden akin to the challenges of living. Many Filipinos are born in poverty, and unfortunately, they often pass away in similar circumstances," Frasco said in his sponsorship speech. 

"With steep funeral and burial costs, one can only imagine the painful experience that grief-stricken Filipino families go through when facing not only the loss of their loved ones, but also the financial burden brought about by high-costs funeral expenses,” he added. 

The price of caskets ranges from P5,000 to P110,000, with the availability of lower priced caskets often limited and even unavailable in most funeral parlors. Additiinal funeral expenses further compound soaring costs of dying in the country. 

The bill states that, if there is no affordable casket available and the deceased is indigent or extremely poor as duly certified by a barangay chairman or a social worker, the funeral establishment shall be obliged to offer a casket of higher value, but the price to be paid shall still not exceed P20,000 to include funeral expenses. 

Funeral parlors found in violation will face fines ranging from P200,000 to P400,000, or the revocation of their business permits or related licenses. 

Being a former mayor of Liloan town in Cebu, Frasco said he had seen first hand the financial burden a poor and indigent family would face after losing a loved one with mounting funeral expenses often leading to families not only suffering grief but also indebtedness. 

“Regulating the sale of caskets and funeral expenses will greatly relieve grief-stricken families of the added financial burden, and preserve the human dignity of our fellow Filipinos, both in life and in death,” added Frasco.