SOCORRO, ORIENTAL MINDORO – Father Joseph Matulin Boongaling distributed Christmas calendars to his parishioners with a personal message of gratitude.
“This is to thank them for their positive response to the tapungan that aims to make the parish self-reliant,” explains the 42-year-old parish priest of the Holy Family Parish (HFP) here, about 60 kilometers away from the City of Calapan.
Tapungan is like the Tagalogs’ saknungan or bayanihan, which is how HFP calls its parishioners’ voluntary contribution of time, treasure and talents for the needs of the church.
It was launched in May and there are now more than 2,000 parishioners who participate with their monthly share of money, ranging from P5 to P500.
In the case of Antonina Montaril, 55, called Nanay Asuncion, of Barangay Lapog Riversite, she allocates P50 monthly tapong (share), from her fisher-husband’s income.
“Her case inspires us. Really, it’s not so much the amount that matters, but the big heart that responds to God’s love by wanting to share,” says Annie Andrea Luarca, a pastoral associate.
Boongaling says the Holy Family Parish used to be known as “better off” compared to other parishes.
But, he reveals, it was because of earnings from the sacramental fees for the dead and from the parish cemetery.
Shift
Boongaling, however, has been careful in implementing tapungan.
It took his team two years of preparations – which included recollections, pilgrimage conference, homilies, festivals and community consultations.
In the parish’s 2007 pilgrimage, Boongaling emphasized that tapungan is a pledge to God and not to the priest, citing Bible passages and explaining where the funds would go.
Luarca, working closely with Boongaling, recalls that the program was not spared from initial doubts and negative reactions because they were changing traditional practices.
“I really was not comfortable that people would ask how much they had to pay for a sacrament because it’s a service of the church,” confesses Boongaling.
With his core team, Boongaling made tapungan creative and colorful to attract attention and excitement, and utilized the LCD projector.
A liturgical musician, he composed an inspirational theme song titled “Sa Diwa ng Kapatiran,” whose tune is that of a lively march.
Luarca explains how tapungan works.
The parishioners are grouped into four zones in the poblacion and 12 communities following a color-coding for practical reasons, like easy segregation, aesthetics and meaning.
An individual gets a one-page letter indicating his pledge of number of hours per week and amount per month to be contributed.
He signs this up and submits it to the parish.
Boongaling returns the letter for a reminder.
A contributor then gets an envelope entitled “Ang Aking Pangako sa Diyos” with the Hapag ng Pamilyang Mindoreño (HNPM) logo covered with plastic.
It contains the name of the zone and community on top. Four columns under it are monthly dates (from May 2008 to May 2009), the amount pledged, the amount received by the counter, and the signature of the volunteer who received the amount.
Luarca said the preparations, while done by volunteers, cost around P5,000 ($102), including photocopying, boxes, clothes bags and tapungan native basket.
Some system
The monthly pledges can be submitted in four ways: During the monthly community Mass, during Tapungan Sunday, which is every fourth Sunday of the month in the parish church (first and second Mass) and individually through the parish office, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Luarca relates: “Now, those without envelopes become curious asking why they do not have one. But it no longer has to be Father Boongaling to explain but those who have pledged.”
The counting of tapong is done on a Sunday after the fourth Sunday by four counters (a leader and three members) from the Pamayanan Pastoral Council (PPC) and Parish Finance Council (Pafinco).
As incentive, the community gets 20 per cent of the total monthly tapong in their area.
This November, Boongaling gladly reports that the tapong collection has increased to P61,000 from P42,632 when it was launched in May.
The monthly parish expenses are about P180,000.
Learning experience
Father Boongaling says his past experiences on voluntarism helped him arrive at the right formula.
He is most grateful to the Hapag ng Pamilyang Mindoreño, the core program of the diocese launched on July 15, 2006 where priests were asked about their dream for their parish.
“I wanted people to make the church a part of their life,” says Boongaling, who is now 15 years old in the ministry.
When he was assigned at the HFP in 2006, he kept in his heart the dream of leaving a legacy in three forms: A self-reliant parish which supports all the needs of the parish; a meaningful liturgy where people understand it, appreciate it and are able to put it into action, and an increase in the number of leaders (koswtowing).
Now Boongaling’s dream is coming alive.
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