Rediscovering God? Uncovering The Unique Filipino Roman Catholic Faith. Plus Five Filipino Holy Week Traditions You Don’t Want To Miss Next Year!

A Filipino writer, I never paid much attention to any of those Holy Week Filipino traditions that Carl Magadia writes about: “Rediscovering Faith: Five Unique Filipino Holy Week Traditions” (16 April 2025, Weekly Tribune, tribune.net.ph). But now that Mr Magadia has pointed them out as unusual features of an unofficial “Pinoy Passion Week” (my term), I see that next year, and the next and the next, our dear Philippines can attract more Lenten visitors by highlighting Pinoy Passion Week – unique and rich in rituals and invitations for visitors to participate in the rituals, to be enriched spiritually – a unique experience in the whole wide world!

The 5 images combined above (unfortunately not indicated which is which) show:

(1)  “Sayaw ng Pagbati” in Ibaan, Batangas – A joyful Easter dance

(2)  “Puni and Magdarame” – Participant-penance in Pampanga

(3)  Quiapo’s Holy Week – The Black Nazarene devotion

(4)  “Pagtaltal” in Guimaras – A Lenten passion play by the sea. (“Pagtaltal” refers to the removal of the body of Christ from the cross.)

(5)  The Moriones Festival of Marinduque. Elaborate costumes.

Pampanga: “Puni and Magdarame” – “To celebrate the season, in the pabasa (designated reading of the official Catholic text), residents participate in chanting the story of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in a makeshift chapel they call puni.” The Pampango word “magdarame” means “to share in the sorrow” (the Tagalog makiramay).

Batangas – “Sayaw ng Pagbati” (Welcome Dance) is performed in Ibaan, Batangas yearly. It is described as “a joyful Easter dance.” It celebrates the Resurrection. (We Filipinos should always celebrate the Resurrection!)

Mr Magadia writes:

As the Lenten season unfolds each year, the Philippines transforms into a living tableau of faith, sacrifice, and cultural heritage. Holy Week, or Semana Santa, remains one of the most solemn and deeply revered observances in the country – an intersection of Catholic devotion and age-old folk traditions passed down through generations. (Note: “Observances” not simply “observance.”)

I repeat for emphasis: The rituals of Semana Santa in the Philippine islands are “an intersection of (modern) Catholic devotion and age-old folk traditions passed down through generations.”

Considering all of the above, next year’s Philippine slogan for the invitation for foreign visitors during the Lenten Season can be this:

Enrich your faith in God witnessing the Filipinos having enriched theirs!

In any case, those five unique Filipino Holy Week practices should remind you, whoever you are, that Roman Catholicism is a rich religion, not a religion of the rich!

But: Is the Filipino observance of the Passion Week all that, just observance? No Sir, no Ma’am! According to Pew Research reported by Michael Lipka, “Filipinos overwhelmingly view having an abortion as immoral (93%)” (“5 Facts About Catholicism In The Philippines,” 09 Jan 2015, Pew Research, pewresearch.org/short-reads).

Abortion is immoral – The Filipinos will insist! In that spirit, the Filipinos will welcome the foreigners when they make their visit to the islands, Holy Week or not. More importantly, miraculously, the foreigners might rediscover their total faith in God!@517