A body of a man suspected to be an illegal drug peddler is found in front of Metropolitan Theather in Manila on July 9. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
With the police shooting drug suspects dead with more frequency and the bodies of summary execution victims found dumped on the streets almost every day, funeral parlors should be making a killing, right?
But that鈥檚 hardly the case鈥攁t least for one proprietor who has been into the mortuary industry for years and whose Manila-based business feels the recent spike in the number of 鈥渟hootout鈥� or 鈥渟alvage鈥� victims brought in for embalming and related services.
鈥淭he fatalities are all from poor families, who could not even afford a decent life and can鈥檛 pay for a decent funeral. (With clients like that), our business might just die as well,鈥� said 鈥淐arlos,鈥� who agreed to be candid with the Inquirer on the condition that his name and that of his funeral parlor be withheld.
鈥�You do the math鈥�
鈥淎llow me to be frank here,鈥� Carlos said. 鈥淭hey kill only the poorest of the poor, whose relatives have no means to pay. When these people were still alive, they could buy 鈥榮habu鈥� but never had the money to buy a house. With that, I鈥檒l let you do the math.鈥�
If only the police鈥攁nd the so-called vigilante groups鈥攚ould 鈥渉ave the balls to kill the rich, the powerful, the mighty, who are very much involved in illegal drugs, too.鈥�
According to Carlos, his funeral parlor鈥攚hich considers a district of Manila its 鈥渢erritory鈥� or market鈥攁ttended to 18 cases of crime-related deaths in just a two-week period, from July 1 to 14.
Before those busy days, the shop received only three to six cases鈥攈e calls them 鈥渕edico-legal deaths鈥濃�攑er week.
Things changed after the Duterte administration took over this month. 鈥淕rabe, the number tripled!鈥� he said.
Promissory notes
But of the 18 bodies brought to his funeral home, only eight have been claimed by the victims鈥� families as of July 14. And of those families, only two have paid in full for the services; the rest only issued promissory notes.
鈥淎re we earning? Maybe not,鈥� the businessman said.
Based on his experience, aside from issuing promissory notes, poor families who could not pay often approach politicians鈥攆rom barangay officials and city councilors to mayors and congressmen鈥攚ho would then 鈥減ressure鈥� funeral parlor owners into lowering their rates.
Which adds to 鈥渕y headaches,鈥� Carlos said, because the bodies of people who suffered violent deaths (shooting, stabbing, hacking or mutilation) often require reconstructive procedures aside from the mandatory autopsy鈥攁nd therefore should entail additional charges.
鈥淚f the body remains unclaimed then we鈥檒l have to shoulder all the expenses. By then, we鈥檒l have to include burial services because under the law we can鈥檛 just throw the bodies away,鈥� he said.
(The original version of this article was published on July 15 at 2:06 p.m.)