BAUANG, La Union – Residents in the village of Quinavite here were horrified after they saw two empty coffins scattered at the barangay nursery Friday morning.
The coffins, engraved with Arabic language, were given to nursery workers after they solicited it from a funeral parlor to use it for a unique garden style.
Marina Del Rosario, Quinavite sanitary inspector, explained that they saw the coffins when they inspected the Joces Funeral Homes and that the caskets were already dumped and are set to be burned by funeral workers.
“When we saw the waste coffins, we got an idea that we can use it for our garden because we are looking for a recycled material where we can make organic fertilizer for our plants. That’s why we beg for it,” Del Rosario said.
However, residents who are unaware of the plan were shocked when they saw the coffins and were scared that it may spread diseases because they were already used by dead persons.
The caskets were allegedly used by dead overseas workers and the funeral parlor replaced it with their own design.
“Our mistake is that we did not inform our barangay mates about our plan to use the coffins in our garden. We will use it for recycling purposes. We referred the matter and was approved by the health office. However, they (people) got scared when they saw it,” Del Rosario said.
Maribie De Castro, a resident, said elders were afraid that it (coffins) may bring bad luck in their barangay.
Because of the controversy, the caskets were returned to the funeral parlor for burning.
By Dexter A. See
