Catalons hold wake for Mauricio

ALCALA, Pangasinan — The family of Mauricio Catalon, a confirmed case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), would hold a "regular" wake for him after his ashes were brought here yesterday.

The cancer-stricken, 74-year-old Catalon, 74, got the dreaded virus from his daughter Adela, the country’s first confirmed SARS case.

A nursing assistant in Toronto, Canada, Adela went home to Barangay Vacante here last April 5 to look for an oncologist for her ailing father, not knowing that she was carrying the SARS virus.

Adela died on April 14, while her father passed away a few days later.

Alcala Mayor Juanito Collado told The STAR in a phone interview that the Catalon family has informed Dr. Shirante Parayno, municipal health officer, that they would hold a regular wake for Mauricio after which they would bury his ashes beside Adela’s in the public cemetery here.

A traditional wake normally lasts for nine days, Collado said.

Parayno said he talked to Mauricio’s daughter-in-law Jean after the old man’s ashes arrived in Barangay Vacante.

However, Parayno added that family members were still discussing among themselves how long the wake would actually be.

Mauricio’s ashes were placed in a sealed can. Doctors at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City have advised the Catalons not to open it.

Mauricio’s remains were cremated at the San Lazaro Hospital’s crematory the other day because no funeral parlor would like to do the job.

Jean’s husband, Ricardo, chairman of Barangay Vacante, is still under observation at the RITM since he was among those who had had close contact with Mauricio and Adela.

Collado said it is understandable if some Vacante residents would not attend Mauricio’s wake.

"Perhaps, only the immediate family members would attend the wake," he said.

He said the SARS scare has not totally disappeared, although he hopes that in due time, the lives of Vacante residents and Alcala folk as well would be back to normal.

Collado said he and the councilors would discuss this weekend if they would eventually push through with the town’s fiesta celebration, which was postponed because of the SARS scare.

No less than President Arroyo, accompanied by Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit, World Health Organization representative Jean Marc Olive and Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina, went here last May 2 to officially declare Barangay Vacante as SARS-free.

The President’s visit was meant to allay the people’s fears about SARS, especially since Alcala folk, particularly Vacante residents, have been humiliated and ostracized following the deaths of Adela and Mauricio Catalon.