(NAR) VOL. 25 NO. 1 / JANUARY - MARCH 2014
1. REFERENCES:
2. PURPOSE:
This Memorandum Circular provides the guidelines and procedures to be undertaken by Investigators-on-Case, Scene of the Crime Operations team, and accredited Funeral Morgues during the removal/retrieval/transfer of cadaver and human remains and their transport from the crime scene/hospital to the accredited morgue for Forensic Examination.
3. DEFINITION OF TERMS:
4. SCOPE OF APPLICATION:
This Memorandum Circular shall apply to all Investigator-on-Case of police offices/units from the national, regional, provincial, city and municipal level; members of Scene of Crime Operations (SOCO) of the PNP Crime Laboratory and accredited funeral morgues handling human remains/cadavers involved in an incident being investigated.
5. PROCEDURES:
Investigator-on-case (lOC), SOCO Team shall observe the following procedures:
6. GUIDELINES:
a. Conduct of Autopsy | ||
a.1 | PNP personnel must ensure that the cadaver is protected from any contamination; | |
a.2 | PNP personnel are prohibited from referring services of funeral morgue; | |
a.3 | The preference of the family of the deceased shall be given priority as to which funeral parlor shall be availed of, provided that the morgue is duly accredited by the PNP; | |
a.4 | In cases where the family prefers to avail the services of a funeral parlor other than the morgue to which the cadaver was brought or autopsied, settlement of fees and other related issues shall be between the family and the funeral parlor but must be commensurate with the services provided and not exorbitant; | |
a.5 | There shall be no fees for autopsy of cadavers, human remains or body parts related to criminal cases; or corpses with undetermined causes of death or those which are declared dead on arrival (DOA) by hospitals; | |
a.6 | The PNP Crime laboratory morgue shall accommodate storage of cadavers not exceeding 12-hours from the estimated time of death considering practical limitations and the reduction of evidentiary value. Beyond the said period, the storage and safekeeping of said cadavers shall be referred to a PNP accredited morgue; | |
a.7 | For cases not criminal in nature wherein the families opt to have the cadaver autopsied, the prescribed fees for gross autopsy in the amount of Php1,200.00 and Histopathological examinations in the amount Php1,000.00 shall be paid through the Land Bank of the Philippines; and | |
In cases of unidentified cadavers, request for autopsy from the Investigator-on-Case is required and should be considered sufficient in the absence of the immediate family or nearest of kin especially within 12-hours from the estimated time of death. | ||
b. Release of Cadaver | ||
b.1 | In cases when the cadaver is examined in the PNP CL morgue, the examining Medico-Legal Officer shall be responsible for the release of the cadaver to the immediate family member/nearest kin with proper documentation; and | |
b.2 | In the event that the immediate family member/nearest kin authorizes a funeral parlor the release of the cadaver, an authorization letter should be presented by the latter. | |
c. Other Provisions | ||
c.1 | If the victim is a foreigner, the embassy of the victim must be notified and consent from the nearest kin or representative from the concerned embassy is obtained prior to autopsy. The examining Medico-Legal Officer should be responsible for the release of the cadaver to the immediate family member/nearest kin/concerned embassy with proper documentation; and | |
c.2 | For religious considerations, request for postmortem examination shall be accompanied by a waiver or a letter requesting non-dissection of the cadaver signed by the nearest kin. However, the Medico-Legal Officer should inform the requesting party that such is an incomplete examination compared to an autopsy: |
7. REPEALING CLAUSE:
All issuances, memoranda, rules and regulations issued by the PNP inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed and amended accordingly.
8. EFFECTIVITY:
This PNP MC shall take effect fifteen (15) days from filing a copy thereof at the University of the Philippine Law Center in consonance with Section 3 and 4, Chapter 2, Book VII of Executive Order No. 292 known as, “The Revised Administrative Code of 1987”.
(SGD) ALAN LA MADRID PURISIMA
Police Director General
Chief, PNP