Sanctuarium of the Philippines

As a country who is bounded by traditions, are we still for a traditional burial or now thinking for an alternative and practical ways specially in times of recessions.

We are accustomed to burying our deceased love ones the traditional way because of the belief that the soul of our departed will continue to be with us even after death. We still prefer for a physical presence of the person in the traditional ceremony for we are still bounded with their memories and that's what we cherished.

While our cab is heading Jack terminal bound for Laguna last hallowen, we passed through the Araneta avenue and saw flock of people inside and outside Sanctuarium- a towering 12 storey complex which is considered as the largest columbarium in Asia and stands out along the line of funeral parlors who do same business in this area.

Over the years, traditional burial has been overshadowed by the growing numbers of people who are willingly and prefers cremation of their love ones because of financial consideration. It is now gaining popularity among Filipinos nowadays and already being offered by well known funeral operators. Needless to say, with the boom of our population, public cemeteries are crowded and traffic jams builds up heading to cemeteries especially on this occasion. So people see "cremation" more economically in the long run".

Why cremation?

Cremation according to Wikipedia is the process of reducing human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. Cremation may serve as post funeral rites-an alternative for internment for the actual body in a casket. Once a body is cremated, ashes are placed in an urn and is surrendered to the family so they wish to bring it home or prepare for a disposal ceremony.

Crematorium operators such as Sactuarium, is a the first of its kind in our country and has everything in one roof. If you are in this kind of business, in order to compete, innovations is prescribe. The Sactuarium has a luxurious vigil chapels with air-conditioned family rooms, a Budhist temple for our Chinese brothers and a Sky Garden at the roof deck. The facility also has underground secured parking, coffee shops, convenience store, flower shops, audio-visual library and the state-of-the-art crematorium. This is a total memorial service in a 12-steps feature sets.

So how much it cost to avail this services? I got this breakdown from a research work:

• one vault - P115,000 - P165,000
• one vault and cremation - P130,000 - P180,000
• one vault, cremation and services - P155,000- P365,000

Part of the service includes transport of the deceased to the Sanctuarium to the hospital, embalming, use of standard casket for funeral ceremony, the use of vigil chapel, documentation assistance such as registration of death certificates, securing permits, and other mementos such as audio and video presentation.

As I see it, the Sanctuarium will become a showcase and standard bearer of a totally new concept in memorialization. It house 5-Star amenities to service the living while being the final resting haven for the departed loved one. Apparently, the Sactuarium offers the best alternative to overcrowded cemeteries that are open to the elements. There is no question that the building will set the standard in the future.

Now regardless on our own personal belief and priority in life, the world is changing and its upon us on how we approach the new paradigm of Filipino tradition and custom.