MANILA, Philippines - Imagine laying on your deathbed with only one thing in your mind when you leave this world: the cost of dying.
With the rising cost of goods and services nowadays, a simple burial of a deceased loved one can set you back several thousands of pesos.
But for a few affluent families in the country, money is not an issue, with some spending as much as P4.5 million just to give their dearly departed the best that money can buy.
Gabriel dela Paz, supervisor of the crematorium department of Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City, said that multi-million peso funeral service includes a larger chapel that could accommodate as much as 150 persons.
"May catering na rin at maraming amenities na kasama. May photo at video coverage, may obituaries at pupuniin ang bulaklak yung paligid," Dela Paz said.
He said the services they give to their grieving clients also depend on the type of casket the family members and relatives want for their dead.
"Meron ding kaming package dito na P75,000 which can vary kung full glass na kita pati ang paa o yung half lang," dela Paz said, referrring to the types of casket.
He said that they also rent out caskets which cost P60,000.
Dela Paz said that a premium package, which includes casket and the chapel where the body would be placed and the number of days for funeral service, ranges from P150,000 to P350,000.
He added that the price range varies with the type of material used for the urn, which could vary from imported brass metal to wood, noting that a gold urn alone can fetch as much as P28,000.
With regard to the price of cremation and urns which hold the human ashes after being cremated, Dela Paz said the most common or standard will fetch more than P13,000.
"Ang standard namin ay yung P13,750 with marble urn na yung kasama," he said.
He added that more Filipinos are becoming comfortable about the idea of cremation as it is more practical and relatively cheaper in the long run.
"In a month, nakaka 60 to 70 cremations kami. Minsan nga ay umaabot ng 100," Dela Paz said.
He said that the company's two machines, imported from South Korea, is regularly working at least six to seven cremations daily.
"Dati kasi umaabot ng apat na oras ang cremation. Pero ngayon one and half hour na lang," he said.
Dela Paz added that the company is doing its part by donating or giving discounts to indigents who are in need of caskets.
"Kapag may iniwan dito na casket sa amin at meron nangangailangan na indigent, dino-donate na lang namin. Pero nahihirapan kami kapag babies ang namatay kasi konti na lang ang gumagawa ng malilit ng casket," he said.
Houses of the dead
Cemeteries, nowadays, are not only for people to bury their dead in. It has been transformed into a special haven to celebrate life, according to Joyce Gonzalez, Loyola marketing manager.
In fact, Gonzalez said droves frequent cemeteries not only during All Saints' or All Souls' Day but even on special occasions like the death anniversaries and their birthdays.
"Nasa kultura na rin kasi natin 'yan na kapag birthday nung namatay ay pumupunta sila doon para mag celebrate. Cemeteries now are a place for family reunions and celebrations," Gonzalez said.
But these resting places for the dead do not come cheap either. An average lot will cost you around P70,000.
The prices go higher, Gonzalez said, depending on the location of cemetery and the location inside the burial ground.
Lots are costlier if they are in a city than if they are situated in a town, she explained.
"This is because these lots are now considered as real estate property," she said.
"Kung mas malapit sa entrance gate or kung may parking area ka na dun eh mas mahal. It depends on its accessibility to the visitors," she added.
Going beyond a simple headstone or an epitaph to remember a dead loved one, some people with means have built edifice as a reminder.
Gonzalez said the much more high end "products" of Loyola are the mausoleums, whose prices range from P1 million to a whopping P5 million.
She noted that some of these mausoleums are fitted with air-conditioning units for the comfort of the visiting family members, relatives and friends.
Even though these mausoleums are good enough for the living to reside in, Gonzalez said they discourage family members from doing so.
"Just keep them clean when they leave the place. It's all a question of sanitation," she said, noting that some of the restrictions now imposed in all cemeteries are there to keep people from abusing the use of these places.