Delfin Giray, 39 years old

How long have you been an embalmer?
I’ve been a janitor, farmer and even a construction worker. I’ve also worked in a mining camp. But this one I first learned to do 25 years ago. My brother and uncle showed me the ropes but it was through practice and experience that I became better. I am now 39 years old.

The thing we all want to know is: Is your job really scary? 
My coworkers say they can sense the presence of some spirits when we are in the morgue and I believe them. Once in my old job (also at a morgue), I was taking a nap when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I looked around but there was no one there; the morgue was closed for the day and I was alone. Another time, I was  charging my phone in the hallway when I felt something bump me. But there was no one else in the room. I just said out loud, “It’s okay to joke around but please don’t scare me too much.”

Has this job made you more tolerant of gross and gory stuff?
When I was eight years old I saw two people killing each other right in front of me. I couldn’t run away and instead of fleeing the scene, I could only sit. So this job, it doesn’t scare or gross me out. 

So it’s a matter of having enough guts.
You have to get used to it because if you can’t, you’ll vomit from the smell alone. Truth is, a lot of people apply for this job and some can’t handle it, especially during the autopsy when they see the body being opened up, organs spilling out, and the skull is cracked open. After that, they don’t come back. When you clean the corpse, blood will spill, you’ll see shit, bedsores. You have to put adult diapers on them to contain the smell.

How did you get used to it?
In time I did. And because of poverty, I had no choice. I needed the job. Right now I earn PHP13,000 a month plus a monthly allowance of PHP1,500. My company pays for my SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-Ibig, Insurance and medical insurance. I’d rather do this than be a petty criminal.

Let’s go back to the smell. You mentioned how bad it is. 
It sticks to your body and clothes, so we have to scrub ourselves clean and wash our clothes thoroughly to get rid of the smell.

What else should we know about embalming?
The dead person’s eyes are usually open when they are brought to us and we have to close them before we start embalming, or else the body hardens. If the person died of a natural cause, there are no patches on the body, but if the corpse came from the hospital, the areas where the person got injected are blackened.

A lot of people must think this job is gross. But how do you see it, aside from it being your source of income?
I tell people we are helping the dead. People get grossed out because it truly is gross if you think about it. They say it’s scary, too. But I ask them, why be afraid of the corpse when they’re already dead? Mas nakakatakot ang buhay. 

What are your most unforgettable experiences?
What I really can’t forget are the scenarios from accidents. For example, those who got run over by vehicles or those who got killed by guns — we pick them up from the scene of the crime. Once, I picked up a person’s brain in the street without wearing gloves. Another time, someone  drowned in Pasig River and it had been a week. We didn’t use gloves and picked up his body. My fingers went through his bone and his flesh disintegrated. On the way to the morgue big flies were following us. I had to throw away my clothes after that because I couldn’t get rid of the smell. And then there was a time when we picked up someone who got hit by a train. Severed foot, hand, and head. We had to “repair” his body, like fix the gaping hole in the head. For massacre victims, we try to work on them but if there’s nothing we can do we wrap them up.

Is it hard to find a girlfriend because of your job?
Not really. It isn’t really hard, especially if you know how to pursue a woman. I don’t really talk about my job at first, but I tell them, what if you marry someone who has no job, or a petty thief, that’s more difficult. 

Have you ever been rejected by a woman because of your line of work?
I have never experienced that. 

This interview was originally conducted in Pilipino and has been shortened for length.