The Pasay Public Crematorium has been filled due to the increase in the number of people who died of COVID-19 amid the continuous increase in cases in NCR Plus.
Darlene Cay reported on GMA News “Unang Balita” on Wednesday that most of the vehicles lined up outside the crematorium had only corpses to be cremated.
On Tuesday, 18 vehicles lined up outside, exceeding the capacity of the crematorium. By midnight, seven vehicles were still lined up.
Some funeral vehicles are waiting to be called inside the crematorium.
According to the report, too many bodies arrived on Tuesday but the crematorium management could do nothing because they had to finish even if they were caught until dawn.
Last week, 32 bodies were brought in in just one day.
According to Laura Leonen, OIC of the Public Cemetery and Crematorium, since the number of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila increased in the second week of March, the number of cremations of each of their two machines has increased to 15 per day, from at eight per day.
According to Leonen, the cremation will take place at 2 in the morning.
Based on data from the Pasay Public Crematorium, 46 were cremated in January this year, 63 in February, and 405 in March.
COVID-19 deaths line up in Pasay Public Crematorium
The Pasay Public Crematorium clarified that 60 percent of the COVID-related deaths are in their cremation.
“‘Yung iba po kasi iba-iba ang ikinakamatay. Kaya lang po, mas pinipili po ng family na i-cremate kaysa ilibing. Dahil mas okay po sa kanila kung ike-cremate,” said Leonen.
Because of the seemingly relentless arrival of bodies, a machine got broken but it was also repaired immediately. Pasay City LGU has also bought another machine.
NavoHimlayan, the public crematorium of Navotas City, has only one machine.
So this week, they are trying to limit the cremation to just five corpses per day.
Colie Jordan, the administrator of NavoHimlayan, said their cremation increased by 200 percent from March and until entering April, where almost all of them were positive for COVID-19.
From January, only six corpses were brought to them per week, but since March, seven per day or 49 per week have been cremated on them, of which 80 percent are COVID-related deaths.