Devotees nailed to crosses on Good Friday in Philippines

Seven Filipino Roman Catholic devotees, including a woman, were nailed to wooden crosses in a Good Friday reenactment of Jesus Christ's suffering that was watched by thousands of spectators but frowned upon by church leaders.

Maryjane Sazon, a 39-year-old beauty salon worker, grimaces after being nailed to the cross as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines Friday, March 30, 2018.  (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Ruben Enaje, right, grimaces as his feet are nailed to the cross for the 32nd time during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Three devotees wearing crowns of twigs were nailed to crosses by villagers dressed as Roman centurions on a dusty hill in San Pedro Cutud village, and four others were nailed to crosses in nearby farming villages in San Fernando city north of Manila, tourism officer Ching Pangilinan said.

A blade is used on the back of a Filipino penitent before flagellation during Good Friday rituals to atone for sins in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines, Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Residents watch as Filipino hooded penitents flagellate during Good Friday rituals to atone for sins in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines, Friday, March 30, 2018.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Residents watch as Filipino hooded penitents flagellate during Good Friday rituals to atone for sins in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines, Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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

The Lenten rituals are frowned upon by church leaders in the Philippines, Asia's largest Roman Catholic nation, especially if the events are used to boost tourism and business. The reenactments of the crucifixion, however, have persisted and become a tourist attraction in the largely unknown villages in Pampanga province, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital.

Filipino penitents line up as they flagellate during Good Friday rituals to atone for sins in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines, Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A Filipino hooded penitent lies on the ground during Good Friday flagellation rituals to atone for sins in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines, Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

While the crucifixions have become a tradition for villagers, they still leave many foreign tourists bewildered.

"It's terrible," said Luke Henkel from Florida. "You wanna stop it."

Mayor Edwin Santiago of San Fernando, where San Pedro Cutud lies, said more than 400 police officers were deployed and first-aid stations set up to look after the huge crowds.

A Filipino hooded penitent places his crown of thorns during Good Friday rituals to atone for sins in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines, Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Nails pierce through Ruben Enaje's feet as actors dressed as Roman soldiers hold the cross during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

"We provide assistance because we can't stop the influx of tourists," Pangilinan said. "We don't promote it as a festival but it's rather a show of respect to a local tradition."

Villagers used the crowd-drawing events to peddle food, water, fans, umbrellas and souvenirs and rent out parking slots and toilets. A leading cellphone company provided tents for shade with its name embossed on them.

Maryjane Sazon, a 39-year-old beauty salon worker, grimaces after being nailed to the cross as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The crowd watches as Ruben Enaje, center, is nailed to the cross for the 32nd time during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Ruben Enaje grimaces after gets nailed to the cross for the 32nd year in a row during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Archbishop Socrates Villegas said it's best for Catholics to mark Lent with prayers and acts of love and charity.

"Instead of spilling your blood on the streets, why not walk into a Red Cross office and donate blood? Choose to share life. Share your blood," Villegas said in remarks posted on a Catholic church website.

Maryjane Sazon, a 39-year-old beauty salon worker, grimaces as she gets nailed to the cross as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines Friday, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Filipino penitents flagellate during Good Friday rituals to atone for sins Friday, March 30, 2018 in San Fernando, Pampanga province, northern Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Ruben Enaje grimaces as he's nailed to a cross for the 32nd year in a row during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Devotees dressed as Roman soldiers lifted Ruben Enaje on the cross after he was nailed to it for the 32nd time during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in the village of San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Friday's reenactment of Christ's crucifixion was the 32nd for Ruben Enaje, a 57-year-old sign painter who began his yearly rite after surviving a fall from a building. He plans to stop when he turns 60.

Maryjane Sazon, a 39-year-old beauty salon worker, said she joined the reenactments seven years ago in the hope of being cured of severe headaches and a nervous breakdown. Her act Friday was dedicated to her sick sister.

Prior to the cross nailings, dozens of male penitents walked several kilometers (miles) along village streets while beating their bare backs with sharp bamboo sticks and pieces of wood. Some had their backs cut to keep them bloody.

Foreigners have been banned from taking part since an Australian comic was nailed to a cross under a false name a few years ago near Pampanga. Authorities also believe that a Japanese man was nailed to cross as part of a porn film in 1996.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops killed the leader of a small Muslim rebel group and eleven of his men blamed for past bombings and extortion in a clash in the country’s south, military officials said Tuesday.

Seven soldiers were wounded in the hourlong gunbattle Monday against suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in a marshy hinterland in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur province, Brig. Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara said.

Cagara said a key commander of the rebel group, Mohiden Animbang, who used the nom de guerre Karialan, was killed, along with his brother, Saga Animbang and 10 other suspected militants. About a dozen of their firearms were recovered from the battle scene.

"This group has long been notorious for bombings, attacking army and police outposts and extortion of bus companies. We finally caught up with them,” Lt. Col. Dennis Almorato, a regional army spokesperson, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Army officials have tried to convince Animbang’s group to surrender but it chose to continue fighting the government, Almorato said.

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters is among a few armed groups still waging a separatist uprising in the southern Philippines, homeland of minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation.

The largest armed separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a 2014 peace pact with the government that eased decades of sporadic fighting. A key commander, Ameril Umbra Kato, broke off from the rebel front when it pursued peace talks with the government and formed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, some hardline members of which later aligned with the Islamic State group.

The military is separately fighting a decades-old communist insurgency, which has been weakened by battle setbacks, infighting and surrenders.

In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division, recovered firearms from suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are seen after a gunbattle with Philippine troops at Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur province, southern Philippines on Monday April 22, 2024. Philippine troops killed the leader of a small Muslim rebel group and eleven of his men blamed for past bombings and extortion in a clash in the country's south, military officials said Tuesday. (Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division via AP)