The city’s Community Affairs Office (CAO), a department handling the burial assistance program, discovered the anomaly when a claimant, identified as Lilia Boston, confessed that the death certificate she submitted was fake.
Boston told authorities that she was paid P500 by a certain Rowena Cunanan to claim the benefits from CAO after forging the signatures of a physician, a releasing officer in ahospital, and an embalmer in the funeral parlor. The death certificate itself was was bought for P15.
In a statement, CAO head Silverio Taloma said the syndicate secure signatures from the Health Office and the Local Civil Registry to claim the P1,500 burial assistance given by the local government to the public.
Police admitted knowledge of the illegal operations and said that at least 10 cases were already filed in court.
The CAO has reported at least 15 recorded cases.
Taloma stressed that although they have yet to gather witnesses for the arrest of Cunanan, charges of falsification of documents would be filed against Boston and another suspect, identified only as Queenie.
If proven guilty, the suspects may be sentenced to at least six years in prison.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jaime Fresnedi has ordered a crackdown on the illegal activity and the strict monitoring of death certificates submitted for claiming death benefits from City Hall.
Taloma said they have taken steps to prevent similar incidents, including the mandatory visits to the home of claimants to verify the reported deaths.