FROM THE MARGINS

With three non-working holidays, this will be a relatively quiet week for many Filipinos. All Saints’ Day – celebrated to remember all saints and martyrs throughout Christian history – and All Souls’ Day – to commemorate those who have passed away – are just around the corner and many are looking forward to spending time with loved ones. “Undas,” as we call this holiday, is the Filipinos’ unique way of celebrating death through life. It is an opportunity to bring families together, to honor the dead and celebrate the lives they have shared with us.

The CARD MRI family mourns the passing of two directors from its Banking Group. The late Benito Pagaspas and Faustino Buenaventura facilitated our acquisition of two rural banks and helped us transition them into microfinance-oriented financial institutions that cater to low-income groups and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). “Sir Benny” and “Sir Tino,” as the staff fondly called them, were good friends dating back to their days as BSP Bank Examiners.  Benny helped in our first bank acquisition in 2007, and assisted in the rehabilitation and conversion of the Rural Bank of Sto. Tomas (Batangas), Inc., into a thrift bank now known as the CARD SME Bank. Tino and Benny facilitated our acquisition of the former Rizal Rural Bank (Taytay), Inc. in 2021, and its transition into the CARD MRI Rizal Bank (CARD RBI). Both eventually served as Directors of CARD RBI, which cater to CARD Inc. clients who have graduated from microfinance into formal financing. Their banking expertise helped us establish internal control measures and strengthened the bank’s compliance and corporate governance framework.

Both will surely be missed. We believe the best way to honor their memory is to continue with our Banking Group’s mission of empowering socially-and-economically-challenged families and SMEs through the provision of financial and other capacity-building services. I salute my friends, Benny and Tino, for their contributions in building strong pro-poor banking institutions that are making a difference in the lives of many people.

The story of Narciso Policarpio, 67, an entrepreneur from Binangonan, Rizal, forms part of my friends’ legacy as he is a CARD RBI client. Narciso owns and manages a funeral home in Barangay Libon-Libon, so he is closely acquainted with life’s most somber moments. Funerals go beyond accepting the inevitability of death for Narciso; he believes these are venues to celebrate the life of the departed and occasions to comfort their bereaved families. As his clients come to him in one of their saddest moments, he offers kindness and empathy as the most important component of his business.

Narciso used to work for a well- known automaker company. He also tried to be an OFW, but eventually, he and his wife decided to be micro-entrepreneurs. They put up a boat rental business and engaged in pig-raising and duck farming. They supplied live pigs to the local market and raised 1,000 ducks which produced thousands of eggs daily. However, those enterprises proved difficult, with challenges like the African Swine Fever and steep market competition. This led them to venture into the funeral business.

Narciso used his savings and pawned his car to establish the Policarpio Funeral Service, which offers affordable funeral packages 24/7. They offer funeral services that start from P15,000, covering everything from caskets to embalming and floral arrangements. Aside from affordability, compassion for clients sets their business apart from others.

“If a client cannot afford our packages,” says Narciso, “we work with what they have.” This solidified their reputation as a funeral  service that cares for the community.

While their business grew, Narciso suffered a personal tragedy: the sudden loss of his wife from a heart attack. He says he gathered all his strength to provide her with the best funeral service. “I want to honor her memories because she remains my greatest inspiration and partner in every success,” Narciso shares.

Narciso will be one of millions of Filipinos who will remember their departed loved ones this week. He intends to continue the business that he started with his wife years ago. He appreciates how CARD RBI has helped their business, granting them loans that reached up to P150,000. He hopes that others will also be offered the same opportunity.

As their business continues to flourish, Narciso has employed neighbors and involved his son in business operations. “I want him to continue the legacy of Policarpio Funeral Service being ‘maka-tao at maka-masa’,” says Narciso.

Kindness to our fellow men and women. Is there a better way to honor departed loved ones and celebrate the lives we had been gifted with?

I wish everyone a restful week! May our celebration of Undas help us come to terms with our own mortality while honoring the lives of our loved ones. I end this piece with these wise words from Jack Thorne: “Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch.”

(Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is a poverty eradication advocate. He is the founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural  Development Mutually-Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), a group of 23 organizations that provide social development  services to eight million economically- disadvantaged Filipinos and insure more than 27 million nationwide.)