The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reported that 70 more unclaimed cadavers of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were buried at the NBP cemetery.
A total of 140 PDLs out of the 176 bodies that were left at the Eastern Funeral Homes, the solely accredited funeral home of the Bureau of Corrections, have been buried.
A funeral Mass was held before the burial, where seats usually occupied by family members and loved ones were left mostly empty.
Director Ma. Cecilia Villanueva of the Health and Welfare Services said during the Mass, that “it’s difficult to bury them because we can’t help but think that they have been forgotten. Maybe not on purpose by their families.”
“But like me, I’ve been at BuCor for 32 years, and at one time or another, these PDLs have seen me, have consulted, or have mingled with me. So I am treating them as my family. If someone in our family passes away, we feel sad,” the official, quote by a GMA News report said.
According to Villanueva, one Japanese national was also among those buried. “The family was informed but they were no longer interested to claim the body so the embassy has a written request to include him in the burial.”