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Mayor Antonio “TJ” Rodriguez Jr. of Capas, Tarlac has broken his silence on the images circulating on social media showing his name printed on coffins his city government gives to constituents.
READ: Is this for real? Coffin ‘branded’ with politician’s name
Recently, a photo of a casket bearing the mayor’s name made the rounds online, with netizens describing the mayor as “epal.”
Rodriguez denied that the placing of his name on caskets has anything to do with the upcoming 2016 elections.
He said he has been giving caskets to citizens since 2010.
He admitted having his name printed on the casket, but said this was only to prevent funeral homes from charging the bereaved family for the casket.
Rodriguez also said that the marking of the caskets has been changed.
Instead of his name, there is now a sticker saying the casket was provided by the municipal government.
The owner of the funeral parlor that makes the caskets has confirmed this.
The mayor said the project is a huge help. With a coffin costing between PHP28,000-PHP30,000, bereaved families will only have to shell out PHP8,000 for the funeral services.
Rodriguez said the recent circulation of the photos may have been politically-motivated. —from a report by Elaine Fulgencio, ABS-CBN News North Central Luzon
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
