The statement came after the Santo Tomas COVID-19 Task Force received information that there are Punong Barangays who reportedly violated the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) protocols on the management of dead specifically on the postmortem care of a decedent whose death is confirmed or suspected to be attributed to COVID-19.
Municipal Information Officer Mart Sambalud in a statement on Tuesday (Feb. 1) said this protocol has not been changed since the national government through the NIATF, the highest policy-making body on COVID-19 related concerns, implemented the community quarantine classifications and even now with the new Alert Level Systems across the country.
"Punong Barangays who issued a certification stating that a dead person is negative from COVID-19 without undergoing the postmortem swab test from DOH-approved facilities is a blatant disregard of the existing policies issued by the governments task force on COVID-19, " he said.
Sambalud said the overt act of issuing a barangay certification by Punong Barangays is gravely an abuse of their discretion, amounting to lack of jurisdiction.
He said under the law, only a licensed physician can certify the cause of death of a person as the clinical diagnosis by a physician serves as the basis for certifying the cause of death.
"The act of Punong Barangays of inducing the relatives of the deceased to seek the signature of the local health officer for the certification and issuance of a death certificate without legally observing the procedures on death registration and the management of the dead for COVID-19 is a clear attempt to falsify a public document, " he said.
Sambalud said the certificate of death is a permanent legal record which contains an individual’s death information. It provides important information and data on the circumstances surrounding the death.
He said contemplating on such situation, Punong Barangays become a principal to act of falsification committed by induction, and cooperation since they induced the relatives of the family to do so by supplying false facts of declaring the deceased as COVID-19 negative even though the body did not undergo a postmortem swab.
"Moreover, we were informed that some Punong Barangays are raking in monetary benefits from life insurance or death care companies they’re conniving with just to dispense the postmortem swab requirement," he said.
He said all these reported unlawful acts are violative to the provisions of the Civil Registry Law, the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines – Presidential Decree No. 85, and pertinent provisions under Local Government Code - Republic Act No. 7160, and of the RA 11332 or the Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases.
"We call on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) through the leadership of DILG 11 Regional Director Alex Roldan to conduct an investigation to ferret out the truth, and discipline erring Punong Barangays who are remiss in their duties and responsibilities insofar as the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols are concerned, " he said.
Meanwhile, Sambalud said Punong Barangays, life insurance companies and death care companies whose clients being served are residents of Santo Tomas are strongly advised to cease and desist from issuing a barangay certification stating a clinical diagnosis that a dead person is negative of COVID-19, and embalming deceased bodies without undergoing the postmortem swab.
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