By: Danille Maye Lagman, Angelica Toyama, and Cyriel Valeroso
With more than 600 million current cumulative cases recorded by the World Health Organization (WHO) worldwide, the long-persisting crisis that is the Covid-19 pandemic that has gone on for as long as almost a three-year span continues to leave a trail of effects on people around the globe.
The Covid-19 outbreak was first announced by the WHO as a "pandemic" on March 12, 2020, and it became a globally transmitted disease that has no cure at all. It started in Wuhan, China, and immediately enters different countries across the world.
The Philippines first heard the term "community quarantine" way back on March 12, 2020, wherein there are at least 52 confirmed Covid-19 cases. This indicates the start of the Covid-19 surge in the Philippines and declared Covid-19 as a pandemic in the whole world. During its implementation, three days after Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte announced it in public, Metro Manila experienced different rules in checkpoints in order to enforce ordinances regarding the entering of the commuters. Thermal scanning, presenting IDs, and even asking for the purpose of visiting a town were checked by the police frontliners.
The first community quarantine proclaimed only lasted until April 14. But then, the surge continues. From 52 active cases to 140 cases with 12 deaths in just three days.
The country faced so many challenges in terms of responding to the needs not just of the patients but also all the front liners. According to a study by WHO, there are 10 hospital beds with six physicians catering to almost 10,000 patients in urban areas, and only one physician for every 20,000 cases can be treated in rural areas. The Philippines also suffers from a lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), medical facilities, and medical supplies. The local government is not prepared for the threat of Covid-19 in every people's life.
The lack of preparedness in the Covid-19 response is evident since by October 2022, or 7 months after the restrictions were implemented, cases have grown for almost 340, 000 people. Even if there are a lot of travel suspensions, community quarantines, and Covid-19 tests applied in health facilities, it is still not enough to handle the worldwide infectious disease or pandemic.
Covid -19 Burying its Impact until Death
The unseen nemesis did not only give birth to issues for the living to face but has also made its way to having its presence felt to others’ last breath at the casket. As the world was left with their guards down— with countries pointing fingers at each other for the spread of the disease, it has brought forth issues no one has ever thought of.
From short-falling economy to rising prices with various restrictions, the Philippines has known it all. The funeral and crematorial services have been essential during the pandemic knowing the rise of death toll in the country making the Philippines reached its highest mortality in over six decades as recently reported by the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) recording over 768,500 deaths from the month of January to mid-November 2021, portraying a 25 percent increase in mortality from 2020.
When talking about essentials in this new normal, funeral and crematorial services became one of the things the people started to prioritize in this time of uncertainty. And a connotation that this line of business as well as profession induced a higher profit in the pandemic has been created with the rise of need for these services. Yet for Analiza Magalong, 52 years old and the funeral director of Meycauayan Funeral Homes Gomez - Olarte, it has been different.
“Ah hindi, parang hindi naman talaga kami kumita. Mas nahirapan kami, sobra. Saka sa kita sa palagay ko bumaba pa nga eh kasi walang burol e, puro diretso cremate lang eh.”. She also added that the pandemic has been both toilsome and costly for both the funeral homes and the bereaving family.
“Medyo mahal, kasi ‘yung mga ginastos namin sa PPE, freezer, medyo mataas din. Mahirap sa side namin, mahirap din sa side ng family. Habang nagpapa-test siyempre kasi kailangan malaman ‘yung cause of death ng cadaver, tumatakbo ‘yung freezer, ‘yung ginagastos ng company namin sa PPE siyempre, pumapatong din sa sinisingil namin sa kanila, ‘yun ‘yung minsan hindi naiintindihan ng iba, akala nila mahal. Siyempre ‘di ba, papaano ‘yung PPE, ilang tao magsusuot. Hindi nila alam mahirap din para sa amin.”
"Erlinda 'Baby' Villarin" Funeral Homes. Photo by Danille Maye Lagman
This has been the same case for Erlinda Villarin, 72 years old and owner of Erlinda “Baby” Villarin Funeral Services, for her this pandemic is quite in contrast to what the people are seeing as a booming industry. “Hindi, kasi ‘yung iba hindi namin kinukuha lalo na kapag kaso ng covid sa death cert, kaya kung tutuusin tumumal talaga kami ngayong pandemic. Saka hindi la’ng naman kami ang punerarya, marami kami, may kompetisyon, dagdag mo pa ‘yung mga nawalan ng trabaho, ‘yung iba nagpupunta rito nanghihingi ng tawad, mahirap, mahirap siya.”
In a recent study of Europe Economics tackling the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for the funeral director market, it has been found that the capacity of people to pay for funeral services has reduced as an imposed expectation as well to the rocketing unemployment rate due to the lockdowns and community quarantines. Relatively, the Philippines hit its highest unemployment rate since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic at 17.6% in April 2020 having an average unemployment rate of 10. 4 % for the year 2020, which is 103.92% higher from 2019 at 5.1%.
And with the risk of the pandemic, according to the research of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) of Oxford University, there is no doubt that there is a real risk to the physical health of the workers in funeral homes or institutions that offer memorial services and the like, but mental health is also in the line.
For Noel Tungo, 45 years old and a maintenance operator at the Himlayan Memorial Garden, an institution that offers crematorial services, the work itself has been a challenge including the threat of the virus itself not only for his sake, but for others and his family. “Takot po, hindi mawala sa atin ‘yun bilang tao, talagang nmararamdaman natin ‘yon lalong-lalo na hindi natin alam kung ano ho talaga ang nangyayari sa atin noon, noong kasalukuyang may pandemya andoon din ‘yung pangamba na bilang ako ay gumaganap ng gawaing ito nangangamba rin ako, hindi ako mapakali na isa ako sa mahawaan.”
Yet, according to Noel, his company made sure that they would feel safe and secure at work. “May ginawa kasi kami ritong tinatawag na kuwan…parang sarili naming protocol dito, ako kasi pagka-after ng cremation operation ko, hindi muna ako umuuwi sa amin, lahat ng mga personal na gamit ko, damit, or mga sapatos, hindi ko siya dinadala sa amin, iniiwan ko siya rito. For the safety na rin ng family ko saka ‘yung pakikisalamuha namin sa tao hangga’t maaari nililimitahan namin.”
Analiza shared the same fear as everyone else had during the height of the pandemic, and to make matters worse, their line of profession requires meeting people, dead or alive 24/7. “Ako kasi, diabetic ako so noong unang pumutok ‘yung ano, ‘yung case natin, talagang nag-leave ako ng two months, hindi talaga ako pumasok. Kasi nga prone daw ang mga diabetic ‘di ba. So nu’ng two months na naka-leave ako pinag-aralan ko mabuti kung paano ko idi-deal kung paano ako makakabalik sa trabaho. Eh ang trabaho nga namin e, napakahirap dahil nandoon ang case ng mga covid.”
She added that more than the company’s safety precautions, she also made ensure to secure some precautions for herself. “So napag-aralan ko ang patay, pero ang covid ‘di ba ano, sa pagsasalita siya makakahawa so ‘yung patay, sabi ko hindi siya medyo delikado hindi naman na makakapagsalita rin kasi ‘di ba, basta ano la’ng, proper care nang pag-handle sa kaniya. Kaso ang problema ‘yung family, hindi mo alam ‘yung kausap nila baka infected na. So doon ako nag-focus paano i-hahandle. Nagkaro’n kami dito ng purifier, time to time na pag-didisinfect ng office, kapag kami pumapasok, lumalabas nagdidisinfect kami, so ‘yung distance lahat ng protocol ginawa namin para naman maprotektahan namin ‘yung sarili namin.”
Stated in the same study by Oxford University mentioned, previous and related findings run the risk of infection when embalming a cadaver or corpse. An instance they have seen that tends to happen often is that they do not necessarily know the specific cause of someone’s death, an example is due to professional secrecy. And still, Covid-19 remains contagious and can even survive even in dead bodies. Nonetheless, for Himlayan Memorial Garden, Erlinda “Baby” Villarin Funeral Services, and Meycauayan Funeral Homes Gomez- Olarte, none of the employees contracted the virus.
Theresa Canaryo during her shift as a secretary at Meycauayan Funeral Homes Gomez-Olarte.
Photo by: Danille Maye Lagman
Public health workers, public social workers, and military and uniformed personnel, Covid- 19 hazard pay were being granted in acknowledgment of the hazard of their line of profession. However, employees in funeral services share the same risk and hazards, yet they do not share the same benefits.
As per Analiza, “Wala kaming gano’ng pay, pero nakatanggap kami sa SS [Social Security System], may binigay naman sila, pero one-time la’ng, ‘yun la’ng.”
This in the same light is similar for Erlinda “Baby” Villarin Funeral services. “ Ayy, wala kaming gano’n, wala naman, hindi rin naman kami tumatanggap ng may covid naman na nga kasi pero minsan di maiwasang may makalusot.”
And things were only different for Noel, “As a private company kami rito, mayroon naman akong natatanggap sa kanila pero bukod do’n kung ang tanong niyo ay ayuda sa gobyerno, wala.”
Contrastingly, even with the apparent hazard from Covid-19, funeral, crematorial, and memorial workers who are often than are private employees, are not entitled to any Covid-19 hazard pay under the Labor Code of the Philippines. Presently in the Philippines, there is no law mandating compulsory hazard pay to employees from private companies but has been left as a choice for the employers to weigh this with their own hands.
Discrimination of the Dead
Discrimination against the living has always been crucial considering the throngs of divisions we do have as of this time, may it be race, religion, color, and the like. Yet this type of discrimination escalated uncontrollably during the pandemic. Accounts of discrimination against health workers or other hospital personnel were reported.
In a report of ABS-CBN News in 2020, a 51-year-old ambulance driver in Quezon province was injured after a civilian shot at their vehicle and accused him of transporting Covid-19 positive patients. Whereas in fact, he was just ferrying health workers to work as one of the initiatives of their hospital for mitigating the interactions of their health workers with other people. The driver suffered from disarticulation, not allowing him to work for a while even though being the breadwinner of their family. As reported by GMA News in the same year, another instance of discrimination during the pandemic is the case of a supermarket security guard who lost her job and has been kicked out from her rented apartment after her temperature in their thermal scanner showed more than 36 degrees implicating a fever which is one of the many symptoms of Covid-19 infection only to find out in the hospital that what the thermal scanner displayed was inaccurate. Before she could defend herself from these false accusations, her employer and homeowner sacked her without any due compensation.
Yet this kind of discrimination does not only impose on the living.
“Naririnig namin sa mga kliyente namin, minsan umiiyak pa sa akin dito ‘yung ano, 'Nakailang punerarya na po kami kayo lang po ang tumanggap sa amin.'” - Analiza Magalong ( Funeral Director, Meycauayan Funeral Homes Gomez- Olarte)
She also mentioned that there were cases whereas the family already knew that their dead relative has an existing illness that is their suspected cause of death yet the death certificates being issued by the hospital were different. “Alam naman na ‘yata ng iba ‘yun e, ‘yung kahit kakilala mo e na alam mong high blood gano’n o kaya naman matanda na talaga, basta kapag sa ospital namatay, ilalagay e covid pa rin. E kapag covid kasi nakalagay talaga sa death cert, bawal na talaga embalsamo ‘yon, diretso cremation na.”
In a related story, Erlinda Villarin of Erlinda “Baby” Villarin Funeral Services mentioned,
“Kapag covid na talaga, hindi na talaga sa amin puwede, pull out na agad.”
In a study regarding rapid cremations in the Philippines amidst Covid-19 of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) of Oxford University, they mentioned that domestic regulations in the Philippines have ordered for immediate cremations of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 victims within 12 hours of postmortem. Moreover, burial is permissible yet less preferred just to accommodate Islamic funeral laws or areas where no crematoria are present to do the cremation. However, it has been noticeable that various funeral homes are encouraging cremation though the bodies are not yet confirmed infected by Covid-19, especially if the corpse came from a hospital or medical institution.
Some crematoriums immediately deny corpses with death certificates portraying Covid-19 as the cause of death. Yet others offer a second testing to check if the corpse is really infected with the virus.
“Basta nag-positive na hindi talaga namin pinapayagan unless magpapa-swab test sila ulit at nag-negative puwede ‘yon baga mali ‘yung una, ayun tatanggapin namin. Naiintindihan din namin kasi sila gusto nila magpaburol para makatulong sa expenses nila, sa donasyon gano’n. Mostly ganoon naman kasi talaga kay nagpapa-request din ‘yung iba ng lamay para makalikom nang panggastos, lalo na kapag biglaan saka alam mong walang-wala.” - Analiza Magalong ( Funeral Director, Meycauayan Funeral Homes Gomez- Olarte)
Yet this second testing according to Analiza, is a 50/50 risk, 50 percent that they might be able to consider having a wake for the body or a 50 percent chance of failure which will cost the family a higher price for the swab test itself and for the maintaining of the body in their mortuary freezer which is ranging from Php 2000 to Php 5000 per day.
And the challenge does not stop there as she clarified since there were instances of corpses being negative from Covid-19 and them preparing a funeral wake yet little to no people visit besides the family members of the deceased. “Minsan may mga ganoong pagkakataon, negative nga, nakapagpalamay, pero walang nagpupunta. Natatakot siguro siyempre mabilis kumalat ang balita. Kapag gano’n minsan parang dagdag gastos sa pamilya pa lalo, imbis na nakatulong.”
And with this decline in visiting funeral wakes, funeral homes also suffer from profit decline as she added. Yet at the end of the day, they just want to see this as a service to the people though this may seem an irony that they make a living out of the dead.
Analiza Magalong, Director of Meycauayan Funeral Homes Gomez - Olarte
when asked about her moral perspective on her job at a funeral home.
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