MANILA, Philippines - This 28-year-old Filipina found her dream job among the dead.

May Cardenas gave up her fat paycheck and comfortable office job to be an embalmer. For almost two years, she has been massaging faces and bodies of her dead "patients" at La Funenaria Paz, a funeral parlor in Quezon City.

She said she wanted to do this ever since she was little.

"I was excited kasi for the longest time, gusto ko siya kaso 'di ko masabi kasi baka sabihin nila ang weird ko," she told radio dzMM over the weekend.

"Gusto ko 'yung may kinakalikot [na bodies] without having to answer to... 'Di ba 'yung sa doctor kailangan mo siyang buhayin whereas 'pag embalmer ka, 'di naman siya (dead person) magrereklamo," added Cardenas, who is a BS Biology graduate of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.

She then shared how this all started.

"When I was young, we lived in Davao. It was a very small town, we'd go around and there was one time when we accidentally ended up in a cemetery. The watcher (of the cemetery), apparently, was in the middle of tranferring bones. Naka-pile up 'yung human bones. Siyempre, kids will be kids, nagkalikot kami. We were just playing," she said.

"Then the watcher came back, and pinaalis kami. I guess that kicked in the curiosity."

After leaving her job in a call center, Cardenas sought the help of a friend who owns a funeral parlor in Bicol. "Sabi ko, pwede bang makinood kung kaya ko? Concerned ako with the sadness that comes with the job. The sense of loss, mourning," she said.

Cardenas then took the licensure exam for embalmers, underwent training sessions, attended a convention, and finally landed a job in Manila.

Happy people

Cardenas said embalmers are not as creepy and depressing as most people think.

The bubbly 28-year-old stressed that she and her fellow embalmers are happy and proud of what they do, even if it involves dealing with dead bodies every single day.

"Your main goal as an embalmer is to make the 'patient' look as good as possible. Wala ka namang dapat ikatakot kasi okay lang naman 'yung ginagawa mo sa kanya," she explained. "It's for you (dead person), your family, para peaceful ka."

"Hindi lang naman ako. My co-workers din, ganoon din naman ang attitude," she added.

Cardenas admitted, though, that they also feel sad whenever they see families mourning the loss of a loved one. But this does not stop them from doing their job -- sometimes, they even try to talk to the dead to create a cheerful atmosphere.

But Cardenas is scared of a few things related to her job. "Ang takot ko is magkamali ako, 'di ko maayos tapos magalit sa akin 'yung family. O kaya bigyan ka ng picture tapos 'di mo magaya. Meron kasing cases na ang tagal nasa hospital, on a coma, tapos nag-iba na talaga 'yung itsura niya," she said.

"And I'd rather not [be an embalmer for a relative or a friend] kasi kilala ko 'yung tao and I can't treat it casually."

Cardenas estimates that there are 5,000 licensed embalmers in the country, a small number compared to the Philippines' current population.

She lamented how a few unlicensed embalmers tend to ruin their reputation, citing necrophiliacs, or people who are sexually attracted to corpses, who molest dead persons inside funeral homes.

To prevent incidents like these, funeral homes have set up viewing rooms where families can see the embalming process.

"I guess kaya rin kami may viewing room so that the family can see [what's going on], lalo na kung babae o teenager 'yung namatay. Tapos pwede nilang sabihin na pwede bang babae 'yung embalmer so they are assured na okay lang," Cardenas said.

Although Cardenas found her dream job, she said this is at the expense of eating certain dishes which, she said, remind her of human flesh.

"I stopped eating tocino and tapa because the smell reminded me of human meat. Tapos kamukha talaga siya when they open the cavity. Kamukha niya 'yung slice ng meat ng tapa," she said.

Embalming 101

Cardenas also shared some basic rules when embalming a dead person.

"It's all about massaging the face. Siyempre the clients pay for the face. You should massage the face to relax the muscles. Kasi if you use formalin, titigas 'yun. Kailangan i-massage mo siya," she said.

"'Pag 'di embalmed for more than eight hours 'yung body, baka mag-iba na 'yung itsura. We start with injections, tapos we suck the excess fluid sa cavity using a giant syringe.

"The standard ratio is one part formalin with five parts water. That would make a body last for 30 days. It depends kung paano 'yung casket, kung airtight ba, etc. With formalin, pwedeng bumaba 'yung skin, pero 'di siya bumabaho.

"There are makeup brands na para talaga sa patay, tapos meron para sa buhay. Sometimes, depende sa skin tone. Mas okay 'yung sa buhay, tapos minsan mas okay 'pag mas makapal. You have to use darker shades para mas mukha siyang healthy," she added.

Cardenas said there are cases when a body cannot be embalmed. "If you died of an infectious disease, you can't embalm. Kailangan ilibing agad."

"Meningococcemia, mad cow, and other infectious diseases. Before bawal din 'yung AIDS pero ngayon pwede na. But you have to wear protective equipment tapos sterilized 'yung gamit. Tapos may limit sa viewing, bawal ang bata tapos 'di pwede i-open ang casket during interment. At dapat three days lang," she added.

Weird requests

Just like in other funeral homes, Cardenas said they also receive strange requests from families on how they want their loved ones to be embalmed.

Some Chinese families, for instance, want the corpse to wear seven layers of clothing.

"The Chinese, ayaw nila 'yung ginugupit 'yung damit kaya mega masahe talaga [sa katawan ng patay]. Tapos you have to put on seven layers of clothing," she said. "It's hard work, you have to lif the body, wash it, and dress it up."

Others want their loved ones to be placed in a casket in a particular way, while some specify what the corpse should wear.

"There was one time, Imeldific ang namatay. They all look the same, parang fans sila ni Imelda (Marcos). Tapos they wanted their sister to look like she was floating, as in may mahabang mahabang cloth. Eventually nakuha naman. Nilagyan namin ng petals sa loob. Pero 'di pwedeng real petals kasi baka mag-build up ng fungus sa loob," she said.

"Tapos may isang sailor naman, gusto niya naka-T-shirt and jeans siya 'pag nilibing instead of a barong."

It's a difficult job and it does not pay much, but Cardenas plans to do this for the next few years, even if it means not getting dates and skipping tocino and tapa.

"Siguro kasi I like my job kaya hindi ko siya nakikita as unusual... I'm happy with my job," she ended.