35,000 tourists witness crucifixion rites

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Thousands of tourists trooped to a village here on Friday to witness the reenactment of Jesus Christ's suffering, which some foreigners described as "magnificent and unique".

Ching Pangilinan, senior tourism officer, said they monitored 35,000 visitors based on the tourist registry books and foot traffic.

The local and foreign tourists, unmindful of the blistering heat, trooped to a man-made calvary hill in Barangay San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga on Friday to watch the flagellants whipping themselves and men getting nailed on the cross as sings of penitence, she said.

Twenty-four men were nailed to crosses in the rice-growing village, while throngs of penitents walked several kilometers through village streets and beat their bare backs with sharp bamboo sticks and pieces of wood, sometimes splashing spectators with blood. Some participants opened cuts in the penitents' backs using broken glass to ensure the ritual was sufficiently bloody, said reports.

The spectacle reflects the Philippines' unique brand of Catholicism, which merges church traditions with folk superstitions. Many of the mostly impoverished penitents undergo the ritual to atone for sins, pray for the sick or a better life and give thanks for what they believe were God-given miracles.

The most number of crucifixions were staged beside a rice field in San Pedro Cutud, where 15 men were nailed to crosses three at a time on a dusty mound as the spectators watched and snapped pictures. An ambulance stood by and more than 20 tourists fainted or became dizzy in the heat, officials said.

Leslie Morgan, a professor from London, described the reenactment of Christ crucifixion in Barangay San Pedro Cutud on Good Friday as a magnificent and unique spectacle of devotion.

It was Morgan's first time to watch the crucifixion rites in this city. He traveled all the way from England along with his Asian friends to witness the Kapampangan's way of observing the Holy Week.

"We do celebrate Holy Week in England. The Queen would give money to people on Maundy Thursday but we never have this kind (crucifixion and flagellations) of sacrifices there," Morgan said.

Roger Benson, 45, a Sinagporean national, came along with Morgan because he also wanted to see the rites that he only sees on television.

Rev. Fr. John Liu, a Chinese priest, said he also shares Morgan and Benson's reason for coming to the Philippines on Good Friday.

"I wanted to see it personally because there is nothing like this in the world," Liu said.

Liu, 35, however, admitted that he does not agree with the idea of repeating how Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross.

Despite difficulties in walking, Ed Towne, 66, also witnessed the crucifixion rites.

"It is the Philippines that has this kind of culture so I wanted to see for myself," Towne, an American national, said.

Towne came along with his Filipina wife Myrna Razon, a native of Nueva Ecija.

Razon said it was also her first time to personally watch the crucifixion rites.

Ruben Enaje, a 50-year-old sign painter who played the role of Jesus Christ on the Kapampangan version of passion, was nailed on the cross around 2 p.m. and was put down a few minutes after.

Although it was his 25th crucifixion, Enaje screamed in pain as villagers dressed as Roman centurions hammered four-inch stainless steel nails through his palms and set him aloft on a cross under a brutal sun for a few minutes.

Despite the pain, he said he will play for two more years the role of Jesus Christ on the Kapampangan version of the passion, adding surviving nearly unscathed when he fell from a three-storey building in 1985 prompted him to undergo the annual ordeal.

Aside from thanking God, Enaje now prays for more painting jobs.

"Not a bone in my body was broken when I fell from that building," Enaje said. "It was a miracle... Now, I'm praying for good health and more clients."

Dr. Elma Manarang, officer-in-charge of the medical teams during the crucifixion rites, said there were no serious casualties during the event. She said dizzyness was the usual complaint of tourists.

For his part, Senior Superintendent Homer Penecilla, city police director, said there were no untoward incidents during the rites, except for heavy vehicle, foot traffic and a couple of pickpocket incidents.

"Except for two reported persons na nadukutan daw, everything went well according to the plan. The build-up of foot and vehicle traffic near the site was expected with this huge crowd of about 35,000," Pangilinan told Sun.Star Pampanga. (Sun.Star Pampanga/With AP/Sunnex)