ILOILO City – The Regalados of Barangay Oñate in Mandurriao district are third-generation cemetery caretakers.
Inspired by their grandfather and father, they have made it their mission, too, to keep the Mandurriao public cemetery a clean and safe final resting place of the dead.
According to 62-year-old Reynaldo Regalado, their grandfather served the Mandurriao public cemetery until he passed away.
Their father took over the job and when he, too, transitioned to the so-called Great Beyond, their elder sister Remy replaced him.
However, in 2009, their sister also died. Reynaldo’s younger brother Ricardo, 60, took the job.
“Ang lolo namon kag si Tatay diri gid nanigulang sa amo ‘ni nga obra,” Ricardo told Panay News.
Ricardo stayed as a maintenance worker of several family mausoleums. He also accepts jobs such as cleaning or painting tombs.
According to Ricardo, when someone hires their services, the fee is not something they right away set.
“Kon pila lang ang kabubut-on nila nga ihatag,” he said.
Reynaldo is a watchman (tanod) of Barangay Oñate but also dabbles in the special mission bequeathed by their grandfather and father.
“May ara nagapalimpyo, may mapa-obra nitso or pantyon, takud lapida or takud tiles,” he said.
Reynaldo is sometimes accompanied by his children when working in the cemetery.
Ricardo shared he started this unique “panublion” (inherited) job when he was 24 years old.
“Masadya kon damu tawo. Makapinta-pinta kaw, may ma-uloistorya sa imo…,” Ricardo shared to this writer.
Ricardo lamented that the coronavirus pandemic has adversely affected their cemetery work.
Before the pandemic, they said, as early as Oct. 25, many were already contacting them for tomb cleaning and painting services. This year, the demand is low. And that means a reduction in income, too.
Still, he said, “Lipay ka man nga nakabulig ka sa isigkapareho mo nga bisan patay na sila gina-atipan mo.”/PN
