'Demanding job but few training centers,' says Funeral Administrator

'Demanding job but few training centers,' says Funeral Administrator
By: Mervin Manaois | Date published: December 12, 2023 

Lumen Tapia (right) near the front door of the Philippine Embalmers and Undertakers Review and Training Center logo. (Image Courtesy: Mervin John Manaois)

It takes guts and courage to pursue a career path dealing with solemn occasions and grieving families, making it seem a viable profession with little competition.

Seasoned funeral director Lumen Tapia was 35 years old when she started her career in the funeral industry.  

"Half of my life was in the death industry. Embalming is unique and noble," said the 65-year-old embalmer.

The 65-year-old embalmer said their profession today are individuals who are the "last call" to take care of loved ones who passed away. She added that they are not mere embalmers, the act of preserving a body for a wake. 

"Doctors cannot do the tasks [of embalmers]. They take care of the living, we take care of the deceased," said Tapia. 

She considers embalming training institutes as substantial. She added that the few training centers in the Philippines benefit embalming training institutions because many clients in the country have "no other choice" but to enroll in any of the accredited training centers.

Tapia is the current administrator for the Philippine Embalmers and Undertakers Review and Training Center (PEURTC) in Makati, the only training center in the region. The PEURTC is one of six DOH-accredited embalming schools in the Philippines.

A profession's limited life support

Despite little competition in the country's embalming training institutions, the few accredited embalmer schools became an added challenge.

In a 2019 Bachelor's Thesis, advised by Jimmy Domingo, a Photojournalist and UP Diliman professor, found in the part of their study that there are few embalming training centers in the Philippines.

The PEURTC is the only embalming training center in Makati. Having no other branches in the country, Tapia found it difficult to accommodate students, especially when conducting practical activities.

Tapia said the Department of Health (DOH) is also experiencing difficulties when catering to embalming training centers, noting embalmer schools as an "added burden" to the government agency.

She added that the Technical Education and Skills Development or TESDA repels any proposed additional training institutions for aspiring embalmers.

However, no other accounts of such allegations have been reported.

Maintaining ethical practice

Tapia said that embalmers were not licensed and used their bare hands when embalming in the past.

"Everything is now professional, everything is professionalized," she said in Filipino.

According to the DOH website, the agency created the Committee of Examiners for Undertakers and Embalmers (CEUE) to "regulate embalming practice in the country."

It was made in line with Presidential Decree No. 856 or Code of Sanitation of the Philippines and Executive Order No. 102 s. 1999 "Rationalizing and Streamlining Plan of the DOH."

However, the lack of interest in the discipline caused laxity in implementing the policy, said former head secretariat of the DOH-CEUE Josephine Hipolito.

This prompted the DOH to require strict and proper licensing.

Examinees must pass the written and practical examination conducted by the DOH-CEUE to qualify for a license.