CALAMBA, Laguna Rep. Charisse Anne Hernandez is pushing for a bill authorizing the legacy or donation of human bodies and body parts after death for health sciences education, training, research, and scientific purposes.

In her House Bill 10416, or the proposed Silent Teachers Act, the solon said cadavers would be revered as silent teachers for the wealth of knowledge that they will bequeath to future healers of man.

“In medicine, there is a highly regarded dictum: ‘Mortui vivos docent’ – the dead teach the living. For even upon death, we study what has curtailed life to improve it or delay the inevitable for future patients whom healthcare providers will treat,” the solon said in the explanatory note.

The solon added that for as long as modern medicine exists, the scarcity of body donors remains a perpetual problem.

This is further complicated by socio-cultural norms, religion, and ethical issues.

Hernandez further explained that other countries have circumvented the scarcity of silent teachers by enacting laws regulating the donation of bodies for medical education and research.

This allowed the creation of an organized body donation registry system that is ethical and transparent.

Under the bill, universities and colleges that received donated bodies should perform solemn ceremonies with families of donors to commiserate the supreme sacrifice of their loved ones.