Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 1458)
Act No. 1458 applies throughout the Philippine Islands except in the city of Manila, which is governed by the Sanitary Code of Manila (Act No. 1150).
It is unlawful to establish burial grounds within 50 meters of either side of any river, spring, well, or other source of water supply, unless authorized by the Director of Health for existing places established before the Act.
Burial grounds or cemeteries must be at least 25 meters from any dwelling house, excluding abandoned houses or those used for cemetery-related purposes.
The municipal council, subject to the approval of the Director of Health, may set apart land for burial grounds, designate burial places for the poor, lay out lots, and authorize lots for burial.
The Director of Health may close any cemetery deemed a menace to public health, approve permits for establishment, enlargement, or removal of burial grounds, and approve sanitary by-laws related to cemeteries.
No burial ground or cemetery may be established, maintained, enlarged, or removed without a permit approved by the Director of Health and transmitted through the municipal council.
Graves should be at least five feet deep, with at least three feet of earth covering coffined bodies and four feet covering uncoffined bodies.
Municipal secretaries issue permits for burial or transfer upon presentation of a death certificate and record burial or transfer details.
Death certificates must include the deceased's name, age, sex, nationality, occupation, marital status, date and place of death, cause and duration of illness, residence, medical attendance details, and indications of violence or crime if any.
Any person burying a body outside lawful burial grounds may be fined up to 200 pesos, imprisoned up to six months, or both, upon conviction.
Public funerals may be limited to immediate family and necessary persons only, with disinfection and specific coffin requirements, and may be held publicly only after one hour of burial.
The surviving spouse with means is responsible if married; nearest adult kin with means if unmarried; otherwise, the municipal authorities are responsible. Failure to perform burial within 48 hours is punishable.
Noncontagious deceased may be exhumed after three years (or 1.5 years with a special permit); those who died from contagious diseases after five years with proper disinfection and sealing.
Bodies can be shipped under conditions prescribed by US Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service regulations, with identification cards securely attached and copies furnished to quarantine officers.