AN OUNCE OF prevention is with all certainty better than cure — except in cases when the cure is also prevention.
In what looks more like a law that is way beyond morbid, if not totally disparaging, Malacanang boasted of a new law embarking on free funeral services for those who have less.
In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office claimed that under the new law, poor Filipinos no longer have to worry about the cost of funeral to burial services.
The new law — Republic Act 12309 (Free Funeral Services Act) however hardly mattered for the poor families who may have lost a relative due to lingering illness.
In the comment section of a social media post, an obviously pissed off netizen finds it rather absurd for the government to come with such an idea that would see the government pay for the funeral service and burial of a pauper, who may have died of an ailment that would have been cured had the government prioritized an honest-to-goodness healthcare program.
For one, a huge chunk of the country’s population can’t even afford proper healthcare. Hence, many Filipinos die without undergoing treatment.
DECENT BURIAL
The Free Funeral Services Act, lapsed into law on September 28, 2025 after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. failed to act on the measure within the prescribed 30-day period.
The law allows indigent families with a combined monthly income below ₱15,000, as well as families affected by calamities or emergencies to avail of free funeral services through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The coverage includes preparation of funeral documents, embalming, burial or cremation, inurnment, provision of a casket or urn, and transportation of remains.
To qualify, families must present a valid ID, death certificate, funeral contract, and a social case study report prepared by a licensed social worker.
NOT SO UNIVERSAL
Six years after the passage of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019, the promise of “healthcare for all” remains far from reality.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, 2022) data, there are 440 government hospitals with 50,966 beds nationwide, compared to 849 private hospitals with 58,927 beds.
“Private healthcare costs significantly more than public healthcare. Confinement in a private hospital averages P70,568, more than 2.5 times the P27,136 mean cost in public facilities,” Ibon Foundation reported.
This burden “disproportionately affects the poor and low-income families who make up 60–75 percent of the population,” the group added.
Meanwhile, medical costs are projected to rise by 18.3 percent by the end of 2025, according to the WTW Global Medical Trends Report.
UNEVEN FOCUS
Ibon Foundation’s recent analyses also highlight how uneven healthcare access remains across the Philippines.
Of the 17 regions, only Metro Manila (NCR) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were able to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 population.
The national average is five doctors per 10,000 population.
In terms of hospital beds, only NCR met the WHO standard of two beds per 1,000 people, even though it also has the lowest poverty incidence.
The disparity also extends to medical technology: There are only 4.3 CT scan machines and one MRI machine for every one million people, with most of them concentrated in NCR and CALABARZON.
“The urban-centric public health system hinders the Filipinos’ right to health,” Ibon said. “Most public hospitals are in the highly-urbanized regions of NCR, Central Luzon, and CALABARZON. Poorer areas such as BARMM and the Zamboanga Peninsula have far fewer facilities.”
JUST A DREAM
In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Marcos promised a zero-balance billing policy for patients in Department of Health (DOH) hospitals.
“Uulitin ko, wala nang kailangan bayaran ang pasyente basta sa DOH hospital dahil bayad na po ang bill ninyo,” he said.
While zero-balance billing and free funeral services sound promising, they remain far from reality.
Even Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa admitted that many Filipinos still can’t benefit from the policy because of the lack of DOH-run hospitals and limited public bed capacity.
According to Herbosa, hospital beds nationwide are 60 percent private and 40 percent public, yet 80 percent of patients go to public hospitals due to financial constraints.
“When I came in as Health Secretary, I discovered there are 40 provinces without a DOH hospital. Only 42 have one,” he added.
He cited Bukidnon as an example where residents have to travel to Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan De Oro to avail of zero-balance billing.
Ironically, DOH came out with a report showing around 300,000 beneficiaries since May, representing P26.4 billion worth of payments under the zero-balance billing program.
CHANCE TO LIVE
There is nothing wrong with providing free funerals for those who can barely afford a decent burial.
But if the government can humanize death, why can’t it humanize healthcare?
While most Filipinos welcome the Free Funeral Services Act, its passage without genuine efforts to fix the healthcare system feels more like a consolation than a solution.
Basically, it says if you’re poor and get sick, you can’t count on the country’s healthcare system to save you but don’t worry, the government will bury you for free when you die.
