Isabela town runs own funeral parlor to help poor constituents

ISABELA, Philippines  – Gamu, one of the leading rice and corn-producing towns in this province, is probably one of the few areas in the country where funeral businesses have failed to prosper. 

This, as the townsfolk prefer the services being provided by the municipal government which probably gives the most comprehensive funeral services to its constituents than any other local government unit in the country.

Starting with a budget of P1.2 million donated by then President Arroyo and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in 2004, the town has been providing funeral services – from coffins, embalming to funeral cars and other services – especially to its indigent constituents free of charge.

“We were concerned about the effects on our constituents of funeral expenses which eat up much of the budget of a bereaved family and even leave them in debt long after the dead have been buried. We wanted to ease this burden on them,” Mayor Fernando Cumigad said. 

The municipal government has put up its own funeral parlor offering quality services and giving out at least 150 coffins every year.

 “We could not in conscience allow our indigent constituents to be burdened by debt from funeral expenses. When the poor are burdened by the cost of death, how could they possibly make a living?” Cumigad said. 

In addition to funeral services, the municipal government also partly shoulders the expenses during wakes with the help of the bereaved families’ communities through the traditional “abuloy.”

“What’s funny is that even those who can afford to pay for funeral services prefer to have their dead serviced by the town’s funeral parlor since we provide quality service for less,” Cumigad said. 

This is probably the reason, according to the mayor, why no other funeral parlors have lasted long in Gamu. 

Aside from this, Cumigad said, residents of neighboring towns have also come to depend on their funeral services, especially for the transport of their dead.

“What they usually request from us is a service to transport their dead, for example, in Manila back to the province. That is a very expensive service costing as much as P15,000, while we only charge the cost of gasoline,” he said. 

But while the municipal government is concerned about easing the burden of death in the family among its poor constituents, it is also concerned about helping the sick through its fleet of top-of-the-line ambulances. 

“When life is in peril, we bring them as fast as possible to safety. But if fate dictates otherwise, we are ready to provide quality services to our constituents, for one never knows what fate has in store,” Cumigad said.