Show Proof of the Proof

Tons of paper work requiring a long stretch of time and a longer stretch of patience pummel a grief-stricken family after a loved one breathes his last. 

Death certificate. This is signed by the doctor on duty, who could not be contacted by the staff the day after. Before that, one needs proof of paid hospital bills that take hours to compute only during office hours. This is required by the funeral home before any action is taken. 

Permits. From three municipalities--the hospital's, the funeral parlor's, and the cemetery's.  

Contracts: For the wake. funeral services, and plot.  

SSS: For burial and pension benefits. One has to prove one’s legal relationship with the diseased through heaps of documents, not to mention hours of waiting in line. 

More! And this takes the cake:  

INSURANCE--as the beneficiary, I have to prove I am the legal spouse. But after presenting an original, certified true copy of a Marriage Certificate, the insurance company requires a PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) record, which does not have a perfect filing system. Naturally, none is found. 

Son #3, a lawyer, cites the law to the insurance company:   

Republic Act No. 11909: "Section 3. Permanent Validity. — The certificates of live birth, death, and marriage issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSO, and the local civil registries shall have permanent validity regardless of the date of issuance and shall be recognized and accepted in all government or private transactions or services requiring submission thereof, as proof of identity and legal status of a person:…"

The insurer remains unmoved.

And so with the help of my brother Dave and his wife Gladys, another certified true copy of the same marriage certificate had to be requested from the QC Civil Registry, to be sent to the PSA who will likewise unearth microfilms of ancient records. 

I try not to complain, but going through these at a time when our hearts are bleeding and our spirits are breaking require gargantuan will. 

I pray for extra dollops of grace to internalize these verses: 

Romans 5:3-5 ESV, “. . . we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”