Grave cleaners share joy, struggles as PH observes Undas

MANILA — The observance of Undas is here and the cleaning business in cemeteries is alive again.

As the morning breaks, visitors of the Laloma Catholic Cemetery in Caloocan can find a lot of residents roaming around, carrying buckets of paint with cleaning brush on the other hand.

Among them is 54-year-old Ricarde Silvestre who has been in the business for around 10 years.

“Okay naman dito, maliit pa lang ako naglilinis na kami dito pero minsan lang (The job here is fine. I was just a young boy when I started cleaning here, but it’s seldom),” he said.

Silvestre said he used to have 10 clients in his long-term cleaning service which he offers for PHP1,200 per year. This is apart from the other services he gives during peak season, which is during Undas.

“Pag mabuti ang kita, nakaka-five thousand pero depende, sa kasunod na araw ganon din pero yun lang yun (When the business is good, I get PHP5,000 and on the following day too),” he added.

Although the labor is cheap, Silvestre said, his rate would still vary depending on the financial capabilities of his customers.

“Depende yun sa daing ng mga tao kasi hindi naman lahat sakto ang pera. Yung iba mayaman tingnan pero wala silang budget para dito kaya binibigay ko lang kung magkano kaya nila (It depends on the client because not everyone has the budget to pay our services. Others may seem well-off but they do not have the budget for what we do, so I adjust my rate to how much they have),” he said.

“Saka hindi naman porket naglilinis kami dito eh mageextort ng pera, kung ano lang ang meron. Masaya na yung nagagawa naming linisin ang puntod ng mga kamag-anak o kaibigan nila kasi yun yung pinunta nila dito. Nasasayahan din sila pag maayos ang mga puntod (We don’t extort money from other people, whatever they have on their pockets is fine. It makes us happy that we make their friends’ or families’ ossuaries clean because that’s what they came here for. They feel good seeing their tombs look maintained),” he added.

When most of his customers decided to transfer to other public cemeteries because they can no longer afford the yearly charges there, he said his earnings started to drop and he needed to look for another source of income.

“Sa sampu, umalis ang iba, apat na lang ang alaga ko na natira kaya kailangan doble kayod (Of my 10 customers, only four was left so I needed to work double),” he added.

At night, he also works as an anti-crime Officer in Payatas, Quezon City.

“Saka hindi naman porket naglilinis kami dito eh mageextort ng pera, kung ano lang ang meron. Masaya na yung nagagawa naming linisin ang puntod ng mga kamag-anak o kaibigan nila kasi yun yung pinunta nila dito. Nasasayahan din sila pag maayos ang mga puntod (We don’t extort money from other people, just what they have on their pockets is okay. It makes us happy that we make their friends’ or families’ ossuaries clean because that’s what they came here for. They feel good seeing their tombs look maintained),” he added.

When most of his customers decided to transfer to other public cemeteries because they can no longer afford the yearly charges there, his earnings started to get slim and he needed to look for another source of income.

“Sa sampu, umalis ang iba, apat na lang ang alaga ko na natira kaya kailangan doble kayod (Of my 10 customers, only four was left so I needed to work double),” he added.

At night, he doubles as an Anti-crime Officer in Payatas, Quezon City.

“Marami talagang paraan para kumita basta iniisip mo lang ng mabuti kung paano ka makakatulong sa iba, matutulungan mo rin ang sarili mo kasi kontento ka at alam mo na may pakinabang ka sa lugar nyo (There are a lot of ways to earn money. Just think of how you can help others because that way, you can also help yourself knowing that you are contented with the thought that you are a functioning citizen and your community benefits from you),” he said.

“Marami talagang paraan para kumita basta iniisip mo lang ng mabuti kung paano ka makakatulong sa iba, matutulungan mo rin ang sarili mo kasi kontento ka at alam mo na may pakinabang ka sa lugar nyo (There are a lot of ways to earn money. Just think of how you can help others because that way, you can also help yourself knowing that you are content with the thought that you are a functioning citizen and your community benefits from you),” he said.

“Madali lang naman ang buhay, maging kontento lang (Life is easy, we just need to be contented),” he added.