Republic of the Philippines 0 y "
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. y oN
Quezon City (? RECEIVED "A
PS yyyg, FEB OT 201
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS Tay Pe

First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4981

Introduced by HONORABLE SCOTT DAVIES S. LANETE, M.D.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Jee Ick-Joo, a South Korean businessman, was reportedly kidnapped by two unidentified men
from his residence in Angeles City, Pampanga October 18, 2016. Three months later, news
circulated about Jee’s abduction and it was only late of January of this year that authorities
discovered Jee’s horrendous death

Investigations revealed that embalmers and personnel of a certain Gream Funeral Services
were brought in by the NBI on January 17 for questioning, because a cadaver suspected to be
that of Jee’s was allegedly brought there on October 18, 2016. It tured out that Jee’s remains
were remains were cremated a day after he was kidnapped. The embalmers confirmed that
the South Korean's remains were indeed brought to Gream, after the NBI showed them
photos of Jee. They also revealed Jee’s ashes were flushed down the toilet after cremation
Authorities also found Jee’s golf set which was supposedly made as the payment for the
storage of Jee’s remains at the funeral parlor.

Jee’s kidnapping/murder is just one among the countless crime incidents where the
authorities either took a long time to resolve or failed to resolve, One of the reasons for the
slow resolution of crime incidents in the Philippines is the lack of laws intended to aid
‘government investigators.

As it turned out, Jee’s remains were cremated a Death Certificate. But is a death certificate
required before a funeral parlor may cremate a dead person? The answer is no.

Presidential Decree No. 856 or the “Code on Sanitation of the Philippines’ provides that “No
remains shall be buried without a death certificate.” Sadly, PD 856 requires a death certificate
only for purposes of burial. As it currently stands, the law does not cover cremation. Thus, a
funeral parlor may legally cremate the remains of a dead person without the presence of a
death certificate

Also, there is no requirement under PD 856 for funeral parlors to report cases of suspicious
deaths. Similarly, PD 856 is not armed with sufficient provisions that will ensure strict
compliance by funeral parlors. Section 102 merely imposes the penalties of revocation or
suspension of license and/or a fine in case of an erring funeral parlors/embalmers.


Considering the aforementioned weaknesses of PD 856, the author strongly believes that it is
now high time to revisit and possibly amend PD 856 to conform to the present times by
amending it to require a death certificate before cremation, mandating funeral
parlors/embalmers to report cases of suspicious or violent deaths, and penalizing non-
compliance therewith As long as there is no such law regulating the practice of funeral
parlors, crime investigation will continue to be snail-paced

Therefore, the passage of this bill is urgently needed

SCOTT DAVIE!
epresentalive
Third District, Province of Masbate

LANETE, M.D,


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4981

Introduced by HONORABLE SCOTT DAVIES S. LANETE, M.D.

AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.
856, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “CODE ON SANITATION OF THE
PHILIPPINES” AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled.

Sec. 1, Section 89 of Presidential Decree No. 856 is hereby amended as follows:

“SECTION 89. Definition. — As used in this Chapter. the following terms shall
‘mean’

a. Burial grounds — cemetery, memorial park of any place duly authorized by
law for permanent disposal of the dead

b, Embalming — preparing, disinfecting and preserving a dead body for its final
disposal

¢. Embalmer ~ a person who practices embalming,

4. Undertaking ~ the care, transport and disposal of the body of a deceased
person by any means other than embalming

e. Undertaker ~ person who practices undertaking.

f Funeral establishment ~ any place used in the preparation and care of the
body of a deceased person for burial

1g, Remains ~ the body of a dead person
h, Burial — Interment of remains in a grave, tomb or the sea

i, Disinterment — the removal or exhumation of remains from places of
interment

i. Cremation — the process of reducing the remains into ashes b

id other



Sec. 2.

Section 91 of Presidential Decree No. 856 is hereby amended as follows:

“SECTION 91. Burial Requirements. ~ The burial of remains is subject to the
following requirements:

a No remains shall be embalmed, cremated or buried without a dead
certificate. This certificate shall be issued by the attending physician. If there
has been no physician in attendance, it shall be issued by the mayor, the
secretary of the municipal board, or a councilor of the municipality where the
death occurred. The death certificate shall be forwarded to the local civil
register within 48 hours after death

b. Shipment of remains abroad shall be governed by the rules and regulations
of the Bureau of Quarantine.

©. Graves where remains are buried shall be at least one and one-half meters
deep and filled well and firmly

d. The cost of burial of a dead person shall be bome by the nearest kin. If the
kin is not financially capable of defraying the expenses or if the deceased had
no kin, the cost shall be borne by the city or municipal government.

€. The burial of remains in city or municipal burial grounds shall not be
prohibited on account of race, nationality, religion or political persuasion

£ the person who issues a death certificate has reasons to believe or suspect
that the cause of death was due to violence or crime, he shall notify
immediately the local authorities concerned. In this case the deceased shall not
be buried until a permission is obtained from the provincial or city fiscal. If
these officials are not available the permission shall be obtained from any
government official authorized by law

g. Except when required by legal investigation or when permitted by the local
health authority, no unembalmed remains shall remain unburied longer than 48
hours after death

h, When the cause of death is a dangerous communicable disease, the remains
shall be buried within 12 hours after death. They shall not be taken to any
place of public assembly. Only the adult members of the family of the
deceased may be permitted to attend the funeral.

i_When the cause of death is suspicious or appears to have been caused by the
intentional use of physical force or power as bome by marks on the cadaver,
no remains shall be embalmed, cremated or buried without a police report duly
issued by the Philippine National Report. In addition, the owner or responsible
officers_of a_funeral_establishment_and_the_embalmer_shall_report_such
incidents to the Philippine National Report within 24 0 from the
time a cadaver is brought to the funeral establishment,



Sec. 2. Section 102 of Presidential Decree No. 856 is hereby amended as follows:
“SECTION 102. Penal Provisions.

a The Secretary or his duly authorized representative may revoke or suspend
the license of an undertaker or embalmer who violates any provisions of this
Chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary under this
Chapter.

b. Any person who shall engage in the business of undertaking or embalming
in violation of any provision of this Chapter shall be liable to a penalty of not
more than one thousand pesos for each violation

to the fine mentioned above, the ity of imprisor
to two years shall_be imposed against_any embalmer, employer, owner or

rt nsible officers of lishments who shall violate Section 9)

¢. Each day or any part thereof during which any prohibited business or
practice is continued shall be deemed a separate violation and subject to the
‘same penalty prescribed in the preceding paragraph.”

Sec. 3. If any part or provision of this Act shall be held unconstitutional or invalid, other
provisions which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Sec. 4. Alll laws, issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

Sec. 5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette
or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved