The Quezon City government on Monday refuted the claim of Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor in connection with uncollected cadavers of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients at the Lung Center of the Philippines.
Assistant city administrator for operations Alberto Kimpo said Defensor should have verified his facts with the Lung Center of the Philippines first before making his accusations.
He was referring to Defensor’s allegations that Carol Patalinghog, assistant chief of the Welfare and Relief Division of the city’s Social Services and Development Department, stopped the transfer of the cadavers to Light Funeral Homes because it was not among those accredited by the city government.
Defensor earlier said the Lung Center sought help to cremate the remains of the COVID-19 patients since it could only accommodate four bodies.
He said the city government’s refusal was politically motivated since it was the defeated mayoralty bet, former representative Vincent “Bingbong” Crisologo, who facilitated the transfer of the cadavers.
According to Kimpo, the hospital failed to inform the city government about the 12 unclaimed cadavers in its possession.
“As per its protocol, LCP only releases bodies that are claimed by a relative. However, it appears that no relatives were coming forward to claim the bodies,” he said.
Upon hearing reports about the unclaimed cadavers, the city government reached out to the Lung Center and requested the contact information of family members to have them claim the bodies, he added.
The city government found out that only five of the 12 deceased COVID-19 patients were Quezon City residents.
“Cadavers of all Quezon City residents have already been claimed and released as of Saturday,” Kimpo said.
Patalinghog said the SSDD has provided free funeral and cremation services to indigent residents who died of COVID-19 through funeral parlors accredited by the city government.
“Since the city is shouldering the expenses for funeral and cremation services, it would be for the best interest of the local government if it requires funeral parlors to get accreditation,” she cited.
She said that funeral parlors would also need to undergo accreditation for health and safety purposes, saying they should be knowledgeable in handling cadavers and have their own cremation service.
Based on the city government’s statement, the funeral parlor did not have an accreditation and even a business permit.
“As a Category 3 funeral parlor, it only has a sanitary permit for an office-only operation,” it said.