Hazard pay for burial office workers sought

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Council has urged the city government to grant hazard pay to the employees of the city’s burial office as they are at high risk of getting infected with COVID-19.

A resolution, sponsored by Councilor David Tumulak, was passed by the City Council on Wednesday seeking to provide assistance and incentives to the workers in the said office for them to assiduously perform their functions.

Earlier, Mayor Edgardo Labella issued an executive order granting financial assistance to city residents for the burial and cremation expenses of COVID-related deaths.

The city’s burial office is directed to take active steps to ensure the full implementation of the EO and shall see to it that its provisions are efficiently and justly implemented.

“Because of this task, the employees and workers of the Cebu City Burial Office are at heightened risk of exposure to possibly infected individuals due to the nature of their functions, and the responsibilities entrusted to them,” said Tumulak.

Section 2 of EO 139 provides that financial assistance is given to qualified beneficiaries who are responsible for post-death expenses of their relatives, who are city residents who died due to COVID-19.

This aid is intended to help alleviate the financial burden of the qualified beneficiaries and to deter them from unnecessary travels as they are considered a high risk of being exposed to infected individuals.

A grant of P16,000 for direct burial while P35,000 for cremation shall be given to qualified beneficiaries who are responsible for the post-death expenses of their relatives who died and were identified as suspect, probable, or confirmed case of COVID-19 by their attending physician.

To avail of such, the beneficiary, through any funeral parlor servicing the remains of their relatives, may file their claim with the Cebu City Burial Office upon presentation of the requirements.

These include duly notarized affidavit of undertaking from the funeral parlor, death certificate, barangay certificate, funeral contract, and official receipts. — FPL (FREEMAN)