He suggests giving families up to five days to find their missing loved ones. If unfound, the bodies should be photographed (even with a cell phone), their fingerprints taken and perhaps tissue samples extracted for future DNA identification. Then they can be buried in shallow graves, for easy unearthing. It will also delay decay.

I've been bothered by the spectacle of mass graves in Albay, even while survivors are still searching for their loved ones. I recall from my coverage of the tsunami's victims in Aceh that this was the most painful thing to watch, the dazed looks of relatives hoping for a miracle but expecting the unspeakable.

The least that can be done is give survivors time to search and claim the bodies.

Duque said local officials are ordering the mass burial of unidentified bodies because of the unbearable smell, and the mistaken assumption that the dead could start an epidemic.

I also called up the health department's chief epidemiologist (epidemic expert), Dr. Eric Tayag, who concurred. "There is even no need to disinfect the bodies. The lime that some are putting doesn't help," he said. There is, however, the risk of water contamination from feces leaking from the dead.

But prematurely burying bodies can even threaten mental health, according to Tayag. "If relatives cannot give their dead a decent burial, the psychological effects can be far-reaching."