PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure that requires the proper and immediate burial of bodies of Muslims in accordance with Islamic rites, particularly burying their dead before the next call to prayer.
The President, on April 11, signed Republic Act 12160 which allows the immediate burial of the bodies of Muslims even if there are no death certificates yet.
“Towards this end, the State shall require that proper and immediate burial of the bodies of the dead Muslims must be observed, in accordance with Islamic rites,” the law said.
RA 12160 requires that the death be reported by the person who performed the burial rites or by the next of kin of the deceased within 14 days after the date of burial to the local health officer, who would then prepare the death certificate and certify the cause of death.
In the absence of an authorized health officer or a duly authorized representative, the death should be reported to the mayor’s office, which shall then prepare the death certificate and certify the cause of death, if there is no forensic interest in the remains.
In the event of some forensic interests, the family of the deceased must be informed before any examination is conducted by the law enforcement authorities assigned to the case.
RA 12160 states that the death certificate should be forwarded to the Local Civil Registrar for registration, 30 days after it has been duly prepared and certified by the local health officer or the city or municipal mayor.
The law also states that for burial purposes and in accordance with Islamic rites, the bodies of the deceased Muslim shall be released within 24 hours by the hospital, medical clinic, funeral parlor, morgue, custodial prison and prison facilities, or other similar facilities, or persons who are in actual care or custody of the cadaver.
The bodies shall also be wrapped with white cloth and placed in an airtight, leak-proof cadaver bag or wooden box, and shall be zipped or closed with tapes or bandage strips.
The law also states that the non-payment of hospital bills, medical expenses, professional fees, cost of wrapping, or any other charges will in no case be made as a reason to withhold the release and shipment of the cadaver. The concerned party may, however, execute a promissory note for the unpaid obligation or any other existing payment scheme acceptable to the other party.
It also stated that any person or entity who withholds the Muslim cadavers due to non-payment of hospital bills will be imprisoned from one month to six months or pay a fine of P50,000 up to P100,000. In case the offender is a corporation, partnership, association, agency, or other judicial entity, the penalty will be imposed on the officers.
The Department of Health and the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of RA 12160 within 120 days from the effectivity of the law.
RA 12160 shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a national daily.
The President also signed into law 19 measures that either converted or upgraded a satellite office of the Land Transportation Office LTO) into a regular district office or established a new LTO district office in different parts of the country.
RA Numbers 12151, 12152, 121523, 12154, 12155, 12156, 12157, 12161, 12162, 12163, 12164, 12165, 12166, 12167, 12168, 12169, 12170, 12171, 12172 were all signed into laws on April 11 but their copies were published in the Official Gazette only on April 21.
Marcos also signed into law RA 12159, which changed the name of the Eastern Bontoc National Agricultural and Vocational High School in Barangay Lingoy in Barlig in Mountain Province to the “Barlig National Agricultural and Vocational High School.”
The President also signed into law RA 12158, which declared March 21 of every year a special non-working holiday in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, in commemoration of its charter anniversary.
