House panel OKs affordable caskets bill

MANILA, Philippines — A proposed bill that will mandate affordable caskets and funeral services for the poor has hurdled the House of Representatives committee on trade and industry.

House Bill 102, authored by Deputy Speaker and Cebu Rep. Duke Frasco, seeks to “regulate the sale of caskets by funeral services to ensure the availability of affordable decent caskets.” It shall be known as the “Affordable Caskets Act.”

The measure proposed that all funeral establishments maintain the availability of decent caskets that would cost no more than P20,000.

But during panel deliberations, the scope of the bill was expanded to include not only caskets but also funeral expenses.

In his sponsorship speech, Frasco said the “cost of dying” in the Philippines has become a “burden akin to the challenges of living.”

He noted that many Filipinos are born in poverty and “unfortunately, they often pass away in similar circumstances.”

During the hearing, it surfaced that the price of caskets ranges from P5,000 to P110,000, with the availability of lower-priced caskets often limited and even unavailable in most funeral parlors.

The bill provides that if there is no affordable casket available and the deceased is indigent or extremely poor as duly certified by a barangay chairman or a social worker, the funeral establishment shall be obliged to offer a casket of any higher value, but the price to be paid shall still not exceed P20,000, including funeral expenses.

Funeral parlors that violate the measure face fines ranging from P200,000 to P400,000 or the revocation of their business permits or related licenses.

“Regulating the sale of caskets and funeral expenses will greatly relieve grief-stricken families of the added financial burden and preserve the human dignity of our fellow Filipinos, both in life and in death,” Frasco said.