THE government may bury slain self-confessed drug lord Franz Sabalones if no one among his relatives will claim his body from a funeral parlor in Quezon City.
The police can initiate the burial, according to Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Debold Sinas.
Before Sabalones’s relatives can claim his body, Sinas said they should show proof.
Last April 18, 2019, Sabalones was shot dead in Quezon City.
Sinas, who consulted the PRO 7’s legal unit, said a law allows the government to bury a slain man if his remains were not claimed 60 days after his death as the cadaver poses health risks.
Sinas, however, did not specify the law to the reporters.
The Code on Sanitation of the Philippines sets the proper disposal of dead persons.
A provision in the health department’s implementing rules and regulations on disposing of dead persons states that a crime victim “shall not be buried until the permission is obtained from the provincial or city prosecutor where the death occurred.”
In case of the prosecutor’s absence, permission can be obtained from the municipal or city judge; municipal or city mayor; and chief of police.
Confusion arose as to Sabalones’s identity after his fingerprints from the records of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in San Fernando, Cebu did not match with those of the murder victim identified by the police as Sabalones.
Sinas said the fingerprints in the Comelec’s records could be erroneous. (From AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, KAL)