Law Summary
Prohibition of Burial Near Water Sources
- Burial or use of land for interment is unlawful within 50 meters of rivers, springs, wells, or water sources.
- The Director of Health may authorize existing burial grounds not meeting this requirement if established before the Act.
Distance from Dwellings
- New cemeteries must be at least 25 meters from dwelling houses.
- Hours and administrative buildings connected to cemeteries are exempted from the dwelling house definition.
- Establishers must maintain an open space of at least 25 meters around cemeteries, except for allowed exceptions.
Establishment and Management of Municipal Cemeteries
- Municipal councils may designate municipal land for cemeteries subject to Director of Health approval.
- Portions can be set aside for the poor; proper lot layouts with paths, avenues, and ornamentations are required.
- Municipalities can grant and convey lots legally for burial purposes.
- Land acquired for municipal cemeteries is tax-exempt.
Management of Proceeds and Financial Regulations
- Proceeds from the sale of cemetery lots must be deposited in a segregated municipal treasury account.
- Funds are to be used for maintenance, improvement, and embellishment of burial grounds.
By-Laws and Regulations
- Municipal councils may establish by-laws for managing municipal cemeteries, subject to Director of Health approval.
- By-laws must not interfere with religious practices or discriminate based on race, nationality, or religion.
- Sanitary by-laws must be submitted for approval.
Appointment and Authority
- Municipal councils can assign municipal health officers to manage cemeteries without extra compensation.
- Municipalities may accept grants, gifts, or bequests for cemetery improvements under specified conditions.
Land Acquisition for Cemeteries
- Municipalities can acquire land for burial grounds by purchase, lease, gift, or condemnation.
Enlargement and Closure of Cemeteries
- Private cemeteries may only enlarge with proper permits.
- Burial grounds are tax-exempt.
- Director of Health may close cemeteries considered health hazards.
- Removal of cemeteries requires approval by the Director of Health and Secretary of the Interior.
Permit Requirements
- Permits for establishing, enlarging, or removing burial grounds are mandatory.
- Applications must be channeled through municipal councils and forwarded to the Director of Health within ten days.
Burial Depths
- Graves must be dug at least five feet deep.
- Coffined bodies must be covered with three feet of earth; uncoffined with four feet.
Approval of Health Boards
- Decisions of provincial or municipal health boards concerning burials require Director of Health approval (except emergencies).
Death Certificates and Burial Permits
- Burial requires a death certificate except in emergencies.
- Physicians or designated officials must issue certificates.
- Certificates must contain detailed personal and medical information.
- Certificates must be submitted to municipal secretaries within 48 hours.
Investigation of Suspicious Deaths
- Signs of violence or crime must be reported immediately to authorities.
- Burial prohibited without permission from the fiscal or municipal president.
Permits for Burial and Transfers
- Municipal secretaries issue burial or transfer permits upon presentation of death certificates.
- No interment or disinterment without permits.
- Transfer of bodies requires copies of death certificates.
Responsibility of Cemetery Officials
- Cemetery officials must ensure burial or disinterment is authorized by permit.
Validity and Time Limit on Permits
- Permits expire 48 hours after issuance.
- Bodies must be buried within 48 hours unless legally investigated.
- Bodies who died of dangerous contagious diseases must be buried within 12 hours.
Burial at Sea
- Permits may be issued for burial at sea under regulated conditions.
- Bodies with dangerous contagious diseases cannot be buried at sea.
Handling Infectious Disease Cases
- Bodies of infectious disease victims must be disinfected before burial.
- Local health authorities must disinfect premises to prevent infection.
- Burial conditions are prescribed by health authorities.
Exhumation and Disinterment
- Bodies of non-infectious disease victims may be exhumed after 3 years; special permits possible after 1.5 years.
- Exhumed bodies must be disinfected and securely enclosed.
- Infectious disease bodies may be exhumed after 5 years in hermetically sealed containers.
Shipping of Remains
- Shipping bodies by sea requires compliance with US Public Health regulations.
- Proper marking and reporting to quarantine officers are required.
Prohibition on Unsealed Tombs
- Bodies in above-ground tombs must be permanently sealed unless tomb is a receiving vault.
Record-Keeping and Inspections
- Local health boards must maintain death records and may require burial reports.
- Morgues, undertaking and embalming establishments, and cemeteries are subject to health inspections.
Prohibitions and Penalties
- Burial outside lawful cemeteries is punishable by fines or imprisonment.
- Malicious destruction of tombs, monuments, or cemetery property carries penalties.
- Failure to perform burial duties within 48 hours results in penalties.
Duty to Bury
- The duty to bury falls first on surviving spouse with means, then nearest kin, then municipality if none have means.
- Estate remains liable for burial expenses.
Custody of Bodies
- Persons responsible for burial have custody of the body unless legal investigations require otherwise.
- In infectious disease cases, the body remains under local health custody until burial.
Rights Regarding Public Funerals
- Public funerals may not be restricted except in epidemics or contagious disease cases.
- Restrictions on attendance apply during epidemics.
Military Provisions
- Military authorities have the right to transport bodies of military personnel or dependents under federal law.
- Deaths from certain dangerous diseases require two-year intervals before disinterment unless cremated.
Rulemaking Power
- Director of Health may make rules and regulations to enforce the Act and address emergencies.
- Rules in Moro Province require approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
Penalties for Violations
- Violators may be fined up to 200 pesos and/or imprisoned up to six months per offense.
Repeal and Effectivity
- Conflicting laws and ordinances are repealed.
- The Act took effect immediately upon passage.