Morbid Thoughts

“Hindi ninyo lang guid ko pag pa mahjongan kung hindi kalagon ko guid kamo”. Those are the words I said to my family when death was mentioned in one of our conversations. I live far away from my family and I only get to see them during my annual vacation. I’ve always been open to the possibility that I may die here in the Kingdom of the Sands. I’ve witnessed several friends, other people who died from several causes.


That’s the reason why I told my Mom that she should religiously pay for my SSS premium so that when, ‘KNOCK ON WOOD’, something might happen to me, she’ll get a pension from the SSS.

I hate the Filipino culture of embalming the dead and display them to mourners for viewing. Most of the dead are displayed for at least 7 days before burying them. My sister said that 7 days is enough for viewing since it also buys them time to construct the ‘Nitso’ or concrete where you put the coffin. I also hate the fact that the neighbors would then construct tents, put on tables and chairs outside the house of the dead and start gambling. I don’t believe that those people are there to condole. They’re there to gamble and drink coffee. Of course, there are genuine people who means well.

I am more interested in cremation than the traditional Filipino burial. A news report recently featured cremation. The cost of cremation is only Php. 12,000.00 a lot less than the embalming and procuring coffin. Did you know that coffins could are priced as high as Php. 100,000.00? It’s one of the reasons why pre-need funeral plans like St. Peter’s is thriving. If you consider the price, cremation is a lot less expensive even if you buy a high-end urn for the ashes, the cost is still comparably lower. However, funeral parlors wouldn’t like this since it doesn’t cost much and it’s not good for their business. Cremation may be the answer to the overcrowded cemeteries in the major cities in our country.