Friday, June 11, 2010

On Easing the Burden of Death.

Summer OLA had me to and fro the NLRC Main Building in Banawe. During my trip back from my first hearing last month, I immediately took notice of a big green banner outside the St. Peter Mega Chapel in Quezon Ave. promoting the company's latest gimick, so to speak: e-Libing and e-Burol.

The official website of St. Peter states that e-Burol and e-Libing allows videos of a deceased person's wake and interment to be uploaded online on their website so that they be accessed by their relatives and friends who are unable to attend the said events in person due to physical distance or other reasons. It is obvious then that the target market of these services would be Filipinos outside the country (legally or otherwise).

At first, I found it funny and quite outrageous. However, as I pondered on it longer, I thought that, with the current advances in communication and technology, it is actually practical to just say our goodbyes online. The e-Burol and e-Libing are bound to attract Filipinos who wish to save time, effort...


gas.

While they are innovative and brilliant ideas, some people might still be wary of availing them. After all, the consoling presence of a loved one will definitely have a hard time passing through the impersonal channels of the web.

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Now, the next question would be: What's next? e-Binyag or e-Kasal? :P

With almost everything going online, I won't be really surprised that, someday, people will be just as big as the people Wall-E saw in space.

2 comments:

Pau Duman said...

I asked about this service because it bothered me as to the privacy of the mourning family. I was told that the family is made to go to a website for the livestreaming and they can't get in if they don't know the password. Only those who are given the password to that site may view it--at a certain exact time and will expire at a certain exact time too (will have to verify this with St. Peter, and prolly inquire as to these services).

I am not sure though as to the extent of what one may view--can he or she view the face of the deceased, will the camera shoot all the crying faces, can the people viewing it online record it?

Then I am reminded of this site where people who have relatives or friends who have died can create an account for them and solicit testimonials for the deceased. You can even light a candle online for them!

Felman Gem Magcalas said...

As a fan of the freedom to choose, I think that all we can do is to inform the people of their options. It'll still be their decision in the end.

Hehehe. Kanya-kanyang trip naman 'yan. :P