FOLLOWING a citizen’s complaint, a joint team from Manila’s sanitation and social welfare departments, the police, and Manila North Cemetery personnel conducted an inspection of a Sta. Cruz funeral home on Wednesday.
The inspection led to the immediate closure of the unlicensed facility after authorities discovered numerous corpses improperly stored within.]
District sanitation officer Gilbert De Guzman reported that the funeral parlor was operating without the necessary business and sanitation permits.
He described the facility as resembling a residence rather than a standard morgue, lacking proper equipment like stainless steel tables.
The owner, a woman residing at the location with her two children, initially denied the presence of any bodies. However, inspectors discovered a hidden morgue behind a secret door, containing at least 10 cadavers wrapped in white plastic and stacked together.
The bodies, some in advanced stages of decomposition, were transferred to a licensed funeral home.
Manila North Cemetery director Daniel Tan explained that the lack of refrigeration contributed to the decomposition, regardless of the time elapsed since death.
Barangay officials stated they were unaware of the morgue’s operation, with Kagawad Jose Flores of Barangay 374 noting previous complaints about exorbitant fees charged by the establishment.
