Senator Imee Marcos on Friday, 17 October, lauded the lapsing of the Free Funeral Services Act into law, stressing that it needs to be immediately funded.
The bill, providing free funeral services to poor Filipino families, has lapsed into law on 28 September without the signature of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The free service covers the coffin, urn, cremation or traditional burial, as well as the transportation of the remains. It also ensures that families falling within the Department of Economic Planning and Development's poverty the first to benefit from the program.
"Give this budget now -- and I hope the greedy will not squander the money for the poorest of our Filipinos who lost their lives. They should be ashamed," Marcos said.
"It is difficult to live, it is difficult to get sick, and it is even more expensive to die. It is time to give dignity to every Filipino who dies, especially the poorest," he added.
On 2 June, the Senate passed Senate Bill 2965 which pushed for free funeral services to indigent Filipinos. On 10 June, the House of Representatives adopted the Senate’s version as an amendment to House Bill 102.