![Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral [National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles], on Jaro Plaza, Iloilo City, Iloilo province on Panay island. Photo: Janssen Panizales from Pexels](http://www.examiner.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Iloilo-pexels-janssen-panizales-4190587-675x360.jpg.webp)
MANILA (UCAN): Government and health officials on the Philippine island of Panay, in the Visayas region, need help dealing with their Covid-19 [SARS-CoV-2] dead, they said on August 3.
The amount of bodies needing burial has risen sharply since the crematorium said it couldn’t cope with the numbers.
“Covid casualties are cremated within 24 hours, according to health protocols, to prevent further spread of the virus. Now we have a problem because the only crematorium here on the island has refused to accept the dead,” Iloilo City mayor, Jerry Trenas, told reporters on August 4 that the crematorium had told health officials that it was being overwhelmed by the number of bodies it had to cremate.
‘We cannot just bury Covid patients. We have a low water level, which means we might infect or contaminate our groundwater…’
Iloilo City mayor, Jerry Trenas
Panay is the sixth-largest island in the Philippines with over 5.2 million inhabitants. It is now struggling to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant after several tourists tested positive for the virus.
Health experts say the island is recording at least 150 new cases of Covid-19 with three to five deaths per day caused by the Delta variant.
“We cannot just bury Covid patients. We have a low water level, which means we might infect or contaminate our groundwater,” Trenas said, adding, “We are hoping for assistance from the Department of Health as our crematorium cannot handle the number of dead arriving from all parts of Panay.”
Government authorities, however, said bodies that could not be cremated had to be buried within 24 hours according to health protocols to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Father Romeo Libiran of the Archdiocese of Capiz, appealed to Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, for more crematoriums on the island on August 5.
“Burying the dead should be the last of our options so as not to pollute our waters,” Father Libiran said.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
He pointed out that if the government can invest in hotels to attract tourists to enjoy the island’s fine beaches, such as the world-renowned Boracay beach, spending money on cremation facilities should not be a problem.
