Manila - More than a dozen men were expected to be nailed to
wooden crosses in a northern Philippine city Friday while others
whipped their backs bloody in an annual re-enactment of the suffering
and death of Jesus Christ.
Tens of thousands of devotees and tourists flocked to San Fernando
City in Pampanga province, 75 kilometres north of Manila, to witness
the highlight of Easter celebrations in the predominantly Catholic
Philippines.
The crucifixions were being held in three villages in San Fernando
City, with the main event taking place in San Pedro Cutud village,
where about a dozen men signed up for the crucifixion.
Another eight signed up in Santa Lucia village and four in nearby
San Juan village.
Dozens of hooded men walked shirtless and barefoot in streets in
many parts of the country, hitting their backs with bamboo sticks
attached to ropes or whips fitted with broken glass as penance for
sins, offerings for wishes or a sign of thanksgiving.
Rolando Bautista, a 38-year-old construction worker, was one of
those to be nailed to the cross in San Juan.
The father of five first joined the ritual in 2004 but stopped two
years later when he left for work in Saudi Arabia. He returned home
in 2007 after losing his job and decided to resume the crucifixion
this year.
'I am doing this for my family, that no one will get sick and that
we will get through our hardships,' he said. 'Times are very
difficult with the crisis, and I hope that with this sacrifice, the
crisis will be over.'
Bautista admitted he was nervous about being nailed to the cross
again.
'But I know that once I accept this as my sacrifice, the pain will
be gone,' he said. 'There will be no more pain.'
The 'Kristos' will first carry heavy wooden crosses in a
procession to a dusty hill where the crucifixions would be held.
Thirteen- to 15-centimetre nails soaked in alcohol are then
hammered into the palms and feet of each of the Kristos, after which
their crosses are lifted to a vertical position for at least five
minutes under the scorching sun.
The Roman Catholic Church officially frowns on the bloody rituals
but makes little effort to discourage the highly popular practices.
Foreigners used to join the crucifixion but were banned since 1997
after local officials learned that a Japanese man nailed to a cross
the previous year was actually an actor being secretly filmed for a
scene in a Japanese pornographic video.
Easter is a major religious event in the Philippines, where more
than 85 per cent of the population is Catholic.
Most of the Holy Week has been declared public holidays to allow
Filipinos to visit their home provinces or go on vacations.
Government offices, private companies and most commercial
establishments, such as shopping malls, are also closed.
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