Restrictions on funerals mulled
70 – 100 DAGUPENOS DIE MONTHLY
ABOUT 70 to
100 residents of Dagupan City are dying monthly, according to records of deaths
being recorded by the Office of the City Civil Registry.
This was bared by Marian de la Cruz, Registry Office
1 of the Dagupan City Office of Civil Registry, when she appeared at a
committee hearing of the Sangguniang Panlungsod
(SP) to react to a proposed ordinance seeking to regulate the conduct of
funeral processions in the streets of Dagupan on weekdays, especially during
rush hours.
De la Cruz told the SP committee on
transportation that the reported number of deaths does not include those (including
non-residents) in private hospitals and Region 1 Medical Center being registered
in Dagupan City.
Councilor Alvin Coquia, SP chairman on
transportation, said the high number of deaths affect the flow of traffic in city
streets.
On De la
Cruz estimate that about 60 to 70 percent of those dying monthly in
Dagupan are indigents, Coquia said the proposed ordinance will include a
financial assistance to indigent families
to enable them to hire PUJs to transport relatives to church and cemetery.
Coquia explained the proposed edict bans
slow-moving funeral procession and instead encourages mourners to ride on vehicles
instead of walking because the slow moving funeral processions create traffic
build up on busy streets.
Bernard
Tuliao, president of the Association of United Transport Organizations
Province-wide, estimated the rental per jeepney for funeral procession use at
P500 each one way.
The hearse and its convoy shall obey traffic
rules. The convoy shall stop or gets cut once the traffic signal turns red.
There will be no stopping of traffic to allow the hearse and its convoy to
pass.
Andy Abalos, operations manager of Abalos
Funeral Homes, said a walking funeral procession is normally preferred by kin
of the dead because this is part of their tradition and culture.
Coquia said the ordinance will allow walking
funeral processions outside the rush hour period and on weekends when traffic
is lighter provided these are coordinated first with the Public Order and Safety
Office.
Rush hours in Dagupan on weekdays are from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a..m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Leonardo Micua)
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