Press Release - Dela Rosa: Co-Sponsorship Speech - SBN 1273 - Muslim Filipinos, Indigenous Peoples, and Other Denominations Access to Public Cemeteries Act

Mr. President, it is my honor to co-sponsor Senate Bill No. 1273, otherwise known as the "Muslim Filipinos, Indigenous Peoples, and Other Denominations Access to Public Cemeteries Act." I wish to commend the Chairperson of the Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs, Senator Robinhood Padilla, for his swift and decisive action on this matter.

Author Jarod Kintz said: Death is the only equality guaranteed in life. However rich, however powerful, however privileged we may have been while alive on this earth, the hard truth remains inescapable - we are all going to pass away. None of us are meant to be around forever; even after all the achievements of the human race, our own mortality comes to meet us. Death is still the greatest equalizer.

Here, then, is the gap that this Senate Bill now wishes to address. Mr. President, marami sa ating mga kapatid na Muslim at Indigenous Peoples ang nahihirapan sa paghahanap ng burial ground para sa kanilang mga mahal sa buhay. It appears that the existing public cemeteries are unable to meet the requirements necessary for a burial that is proper and in accordance with their beliefs. Equalizer nga kung ituring ang kamatayan, kaya hindi naman yata tama na sa paghahanap ng libingan ay pahihirapan pa natin ang ating kapwa.

To discriminate among the dead is perhaps one of the worst acts of injustice. And it is an injustice to the bereaved families and loved ones, too. Imagine, you are grieving, but you also have to face the logistical difficulties, the uncalled-for-impracticalities, of arranging for the proper burial of your beloved.

Senate Bill No. 1273 seeks to address this injustice directly. Sa pagsasabatas nito, magkakaroon ng apportionment at partition ang mga public cemetery. The apportionment shall be provided for those of a different faith, a different belief system regarding burial practices - our Muslim Filipinos, those belonging to the Indigenous Communities, and members of other denominations.

Mr. President, while it is true that death grants all of us a kind of equality, I cannot, for the life of me, accept that it should be the only kind of equality guaranteed in our society. Let us, who are still alive,