Implementing Rules and Regulations of Chapter XXI: Disposal of Dead Persons (P.D. 856)

Scope and Definitions of the Sanitation Code for Disposal of Dead Persons

These implementing rules and regulations apply to a broad range of entities including all crematories, funeral and embalming establishments, medical and research institutions, and individual practitioners such as undertakers and embalmers. The scope extends to both public and private burial grounds and any similar institutions operated by government instrumentalities, government-owned or controlled corporations, private organizations, firms, or individuals.

Several key terms are defined to ensure clinical and legal clarity. Burial is defined as the interment of remains in a grave, tomb, or the sea. Burial grounds include cemeteries, memorial parks, or any place authorized by law for permanent disposal. A catacomb is a burial place consisting of galleries or passages with side recesses for tombs. A cemetery refers to land used for burial and related uses, including columbaria, crematories, and mortuaries. Cinerary remains, or cremains, are the ashes resulting from the cremation process, which is the reduction of remains to bone fragments or ashes via combustion and dehydration. A death certificate is the document issued by a physician or authorized official certifying a death. Disinterment involves the removal or exhumation of remains. Embalming is the preparation and preservation of a dead body, performed by a licensed embalmer. Funeral establishments include chapels and parlors used for storage and care of the deceased. A memorial park is a cemetery with landscaped lawns and systematic maintenance. A morgue is a temporary storage place for identification or burial. A niche is an interment space. The sanitation inspector is a government officer enforcing these rules, while the sanitary engineer is a registered professional heading sanitation units. A sanitary permit is written certification that an establishment complies with Presidential Decree No. $522$ and Presidential Decree No. $856$. Undertaking refers to the care, transport, and disposal of a body by means other than embalming.

Burial Ground Establishment and Infrastructure Requirements

To establish a public cemetery or memorial park, several requirements must be met for Department of Health clearance. This includes an application, a city or municipal council resolution, and triplicate maps indicating dimensions and the presence of $25$ to $50$ meter zones around dwellings and water sources. Title of ownership must be registered with the Register of Deeds. A sanitary engineer must certify the land suitability regarding the water table depth, flood levels, drainage, and proximity to water supplies. Infrastructure must include a reinforced concrete wall or steel grille fence at least $2.0\,meters$ high with a locked main door. A chapel or building for public assembly must have a minimum area of $50\,square\,meters$ ($5\,m \times 10\,m$). Roads within the cemetery must include a main road $4.0\,meters$ wide and cross roads at least $1.0\,meter$ wide. Technical descriptions must include side dimensions, area, and topographic identifiers.

For private burial grounds or places of enshrinement, the site must be at least $1.2\,hectares$, including a $50\,meter$ buffer zone. Burial is limited to $10$ niches in an area not exceeding $30\,square\,meters$ at the center of the site. Additional burials must be constructed vertically over existing niches, capped at either $4$ niches or a height of $3.0\,meters$. Niches must be watertight, made of impervious material, and feature a $5\,cm$ non-corrosive weep hole at the opposite side of the opening, not exposed as a drain. Regional health directors issue initial and operational clearances, the latter being the basis for the local sanitary permit.

Sanitary and Structural Standards for Burial Facilities

Burial grounds must provide adequate, clean, and ventilated toilet facilities for males, females, and disabled personnel. These rooms must include lavatories with soap and hand dryers. Structural requirements specify a minimum ceiling height of $2.50\,meters$, lighting of at least $10\,foot-candle$ ($107.6\,lux$), and natural ventilation equal to $10\%$ of the floor area. Water closets must be provided based on population: for males, $1$ toilet per $50$ persons up to $100$, then $1$ per additional $100$; for females, $1$ toilet for the first $30$, $2$ for up to $100$, and $1$ per additional $50$. Personnel rooms have similar graduated requirements. Comfort room space requirements are set at $1.50\,square\,meters$ per toilet and $1.11\,square\,meters$ per lavatory or urinal.

Water supply must be potable, meeting the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water, with a minimum supply of $40\,liters$ per capita per day and a certificate of potability. Sewage must connect to a public system or a septic tank/treatment facility. Solid waste management requires at least two receptacles at strategic points, color-coded black for non-biodegradable and green for biodegradable materials. A vermin abatement program is mandatory, and office/toilet openings must be screened or rat-proofed. Ground maintenance must control the growth of weeds and grass to prevent insect harborage.

Death Certification and Burial Procedures

No remains may be buried or cremated without a death certificate issued by an attending physician or, in their absence, the city or municipal health officer, mayor, or authorized councilor. Death must be reported within $48\,hours$ and the certificate registered with the local civil registrar within $30\,days$. Shipment of remains requires a death certificate, a transfer permit from the point of origin, and proper embalming. Transit permits are required if local ordinances dictate, and international shipments are managed by the National Quarantine Office.

Graves must be at least $1.5\,meters$ deep and firmly filled. Burial is prohibited if the water table is less than $2.0\,meters$ deep. The cost of burial falls to the nearest kin in the following order: spouse, descendants, ascendants, and brothers/sisters. If the kin are indigent or absent, the local government bears the cost. Burial cannot be prohibited based on race, nationality, religion, or politics. Unembalmed bodies must generally be buried within $48\,hours$, though this is extended to $72\,hours$ for legal investigations if the cause is not a dangerous communicable disease.

Medico-Legal and Dangerous Communicable Disease Protocols

If the local health officer suspects violence or crime, they must notify the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation. Deceased individuals in such cases cannot be buried without permission from the provincial or city prosecutor. If a prosecutor is unavailable, permission can come from a judge, mayor, or chief of police. Exhumation for medico-legal purposes requires death registration and disinfection of remains immediately upon removal.

Dangerous communicable diseases include Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)/HIV Infection, Cholera, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Hepatitis, Plague, Yellow Fever, and Meningococcemia. Victims of these diseases must be buried within $12\,hours$ of death. The remains cannot be taken to public assemblies, and only adult family members may attend the funeral. Remains must be placed in a durable, airtight, and sealed casket. No transfer permits are granted for these cases.

Disinterment, Exhumation, and Cemetery Closure

General disinterment permits are issued by the local health officer. For non-dangerous communicable diseases, exhumation is allowed after $3\,years$. For dangerous communicable diseases, the period is $5\,years$. Exceptions for medico-legal cases require Regional Health Director approval. Exhumed remains must be disinfected and placed in identified, sealed containers. Cemetery closure may be ordered by the Regional Health Director with the Secretary of Health's approval if requirements (like the $25\,meter$ dwelling distance or $50\,meter$ water source distance) are no longer met or if the site is full. Individual notices for exhumation must be published for $30\,days$ prior. Re-opening a closed cemetery requires full compliance with all rules and a general exhumation of unclaimed remains into a common grave.

Crematorium Operation and Design Standards

Crematoriums require a feasibility study approved by the Secretary of Health and an annual sanitary permit. All personnel must be licensed undertakers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as coveralls, rubber gloves, and face masks. The facility must include a cremation room, viewing room, toilet and washing facilities, a grinder processor, and a mortuary refrigerator/freezer. The gas storage must be five meters away from the cremation room. The cremation oven must operate at $800^{\circ}C$ to $1200^{\circ}C$ with a detention time of $5$ to $6\,hours$. Cremated remains must be packed in a container with a minimum capacity of $0.0049\,cubic\,meter$, made of polyethylene with a $5\,mil$ plastic liner bag and identification label. Cremains can be stored in niches within the $25\,meter$ zone or taken home if requested.

Funeral and Embalming Establishment Classifications

Funeral establishments are classified into three categories: Category I (chapels and embalming facilities), Category II (chapels without embalming facilities), and Category III (funeral services from the home only). Establishments must have sanitary permits valid for one year, ending December $31$. Embalmers and undertakers must be licensed and registered, with licenses renewable annually. Embalming rooms must have a minimum space of $1.50\,m \times 2.0\,m$ per remains, concrete floors sloped to drain, and walls of non-absorbent material. Floor drains must connect to a treatment facility separate from the septic tank. Pathological waste goes in yellow bags, while sharps go in red bags. Morgue tanks must have compartments measuring $2.50\,meters$ long, $1.50\,meters$ wide, and $2.50\,meters$ deep.

Evaluation, Inspection, and Scoring Systems

City or municipal health officers must inspect establishments every $3\,months$. Inspectors must carry a Mission Order (EHS Form No. $112$) and wear uniforms. The inspection form (EHS Form No. $103-B$) uses a demerit system: $20$ items worth $5$ points each. The rating is calculated as $100\,less\,(demerits \times 5)$. Sanitation Standard Rating Stickers (SSRS) use color codes: Luminous Green for Excellent ($90\%-100\%$), Luminous Yellow for Very Satisfactory ($70\%-89\%$), and Luminous Red for Satisfactory ($50\%-69\%$). Failure to comply with sanitary orders leads to revocation of the permit. The local health authority has the power of entry for inspections and can conduct hearings on decision appeals.

Committee of Examiners for Undertakers and Embalmers

The Committee consists of the Director of the Environmental Health Service, a sanitary engineer, a medical officer (pathologist), a legal officer, and representatives from the Office for Public Health Services and the professional association. They hold examinations in the first weeks of March and September. Applicants must be Filipino citizens, $21$ to $60\,years$ old, high school graduates, and have certificates of training. Embalmer applicants must have skillfully embalmed at least $10$ cadavers within one year under supervision. The exam includes theoretical and oral/practical portions; passing requires a $75\%$ average with no theoretical subject below $50\%$. Certificates of registration are valid for $3\,years$.

Professional Practice and Scientific Use of Remains

Embalmers must verify death certificates and ensure no autopsy is required. They are prohibited from using arsenic, strychnine, mercury, or poisonous alkaloids without permission. Emergency home embalming requires a report within $6\,hours$. Medical schools (CHED authorized) may use unclaimed remains (unclaimed for $48\,hours$) for research, provided the cause of death was not a dangerous communicable disease. After use, the institution must provide a decent burial. Dissection rooms must have floor drains, good ventilation, and protection from pests. Handling remains with radioactive isotopes requires compliance with Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) regulations. Autopsies are only permitted if the radiation dose rate is less than $2.5\,mR/hr$ at one meter.

Administrative Responsibilities and Penalties

The Regional Health Director acts on burial ground applications, closures, and registrations. The Local Health Authority issues burial permits and manages LGU cemeteries. The Local Health Officer performs inspections, issues death certificates, and conducts autopsies. LGUs are responsible for reserving land for cemeteries and preparing quarterly reports. Penalties for violating P.D. 856 include a fine of not more than $1000.00\,PHP$ per violation, with each day of continued violation counting as a separate offense. Closure of facilities can be temporary or permanent through court prosecution.

Collaborative Acknowledgements and Governance

The Department of Health acknowledges Dr. Mario C. Villaverde (Director of environmental Health Service), Engr. Victor V. Sabandeja (Environmental Sanitation Division), and technical staff such as Engr. Antonino A. Hormillosa and Engr. John C. Foz. Numerous agencies participated in the formulation, including the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, National Bureau of Investigation, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, and various municipal/city health offices (e.g., Manila, Baguio, Davao). Significant funeral homes and memorial parks involved include La Funeraria Paz, Arlington Memorial Chapel, and Manila Memorial Park. The IRR was approved by Secretary Carmencita Noriega-Reodica and took effect $15\,days$ after its publication on November $22$, $1996$.