‘Kapunongan’: A bayanihan way to help families cope with a loved one’s burial expenses
A member of a Kapunongan gives his contribution to the collector. |CDN Digital photo
CEBU, Philippines—Nanay Asuncion Amahan from Barangay Managgal in Dalaguete town south of Cebu was on her own when she died.
Her children left for the city to build their own families and try their luck there.
But her niece, Ruby Amahan, took good care of her since learning she got sick about two weeks before she died.
“Tiguwang na to sya nya sige og gikabuhi. Ako’y nagpahimotang nya kay wala man iyang mga anak diri. Toa sa syudad unya luoy pud og kahimtang,” said Amahan.
(She’s old and she feels unwell most of the time. I was the one who took care of her because her children are not here. They are in the city and I pity her for her the situation she was in.)
“Suod gyod to nako kay mao man toy akong sugo-sugoon sa una. Madali-dali na pog sugo og pabantay sa akong mga anak. Mao to siya’y nag-alima,” Amahan said.
(She is close to me because she is the one who could run errands for me. She can also be easily asked to look after my children. She was the one who took care of them.)
When she was still able to work, she served as a nanny to her niece’s children while the children’s mom attends to her vegetable business in Barangay Mantalongon in Dalaguete town, south of Cebu.
Nanny Asuncion was 79 years old.
The ‘Kapunongan’ or ‘Peletaryo’
“Dako gyod kaayo og gikatabang ang peletaryo. Mao among gigamit para sa akong tiya pagkamatay niya. Gipalit nako’g longon, nitso, mga bulak nya ug painit. Usa ra ka adlaw ang haya,” Amahan told CDN Digital in an interview.
(The “peletaryo” was a big help. The assistance given to us was what we used when my aunt died. We used that for the coffin, tomb, flowers and snacks. The wake was only held for one day.)
The “Peletaryo” or “Kapunongan” is an informal money-sharing system intended for burial purposes where a group of people would contribute a fixed amount of money to be held by one member, and will be given to the grieving family in an instance that a member would die.
Amahan enrolled her aunt to the “Kapunongan” in Barangay Salug, a mountain Barangay of Dalaguete town.
Each of the grieving families will receive an amount of P58,600.
According to Teresita Baran, one of the collectors, the group has a total of 1,170 group members, who are all entitled to give their share of P50 for every death of a member.
“Ang uban didto sa [Barangay] Salog, mangubra lang gyod para makahatag sa kapungogan. Maningkamot gyod sila makahatag,” Baran said.
(Others in Barangay Salog, would do their best to get the amount to pay the “kapunongan.” They try their best so that they can give their share.)
The “Kapunongan” in their area has existed since 2007 or about 14 years now.
Baran said that it started at around a hundred members at first then, a lot of locals have decided to enroll themselves since the “Kapunongan” really helps.
The Rules
The “Kapunongan” has about 12 collectors, who are designated to collect the “tanhanan” or the fees to be collected per member.
The collectors would visit their houses to collect the money each time there would be a reported death from one of the eligible members.
If a member fails to give for at least two consecutive times, he/she will be removed from the “Kapunongan.”
A new member, whose age is above 60 years old, will be able to claim his burial benefits one year after the enrollment.
They can only enroll one person per family and any of the family members will be able to claim the burial benefits.
Baran shared with CDN Digital that they had also experienced getting scammed by a member.
“Kasulay mi sa una nga nay nagbinuang. Nya nahatagan ra ba sa kwarta. Gipangayoan nila og death certificate, nya hangtod ron wala naghatag,” she said.
(We experienced one member who duped us. We already gave the money to the member, but when we asked them for the death certificate, until now the member could not produce one.)
That is why they would already require a death certificate before a member can claim the money.
With the pandemic still not over, Baran said that the figures of deaths from among the members since January of 2021 to October had already reached 68.
She said that for the month of mid-October alone, there were 10 and the month of August was the highest so far, which recorded 16 deaths.
‘Bayanihan’ spirit
Amahan heard of the “Kapunongan” way back in 2018 through a friend and she said she did not gave it a second thought since it had been very helpful to families who had lost their loved ones.
She said that it’s like a burial plan but you get to help other people as well.
“Pagkamatay sa Akong amahan niadtong, 2018, akong gipapuli og enrol akong Tiya sa Kapunongan kay siya na lang baya usa ra. Unya tigulang na kaayo. Dili man nato mahibaw-an ang panahon unya usahay naa ko’y kwarta halin sa mga utanan, usahay pud baya barato ang mga utanon,” said Amahan.
(When my father died in 2018, I replaced and enrolled my aunt to the Kapunongan because she lives alone. And she is old now. We really cannot predict what will happen in the future because sometime we have money from selling vegetables, but there are also times that vegetable prices are low.)
The “Kapunongan” is not new for most of the locals here in Dalaguete because there are other groups too.
Some of the “Kapunongan”, which are handled by people from neighboring barangays here, have already existed for about 20 or 50 years now.
It has helped a lot of grieving families and their departed loved ones get a decent and a proper burial.
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