CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Organizers of the of the 2015 Holy Week commemoration here announced on Monday that foreigners will no longer be allowed to have themselves crucified during penitential rites on Good Friday in Barangay San Pedro Cutud.
In a news conference at the city hall, the 2015 Maleldo committee chairman, Councilor Harvey Quiwa, said the ban was imposed “ito prevent the Lenten rites from becoming a circus, to ensure law and order and the safety of the residents and the thousands of visitors.”
It was reported that a Dutchman expressed his intention be nailed on the cross in 2014 but backed out just before the Holy Week reenactment of Jesus Christ’s passion and death. It caused a stir and disappointment among San Pedro Cutud officials.
Quiwa said that at least 60,000 foreign and local tourists are expected to witness the nailing on the cross of at least seven people on Friday afternoon.
Bob Velez, 76, of Barangay Santo Niño, here will be nailed for the 36th straight year on April 3. He and Ruben Enaje, 54, of Barangay San Pedro Cutud, attended the news conference.
Enaje will be nailed for the 26th straight year on Good Friday.
Enaje said there will be at least seven local residents who will be nailed on Friday, including him and Velez. He added that one penitent each from Laguna, Cavite and Polilio Island in Quezon province may also join them.
“They will join if they arrive on Friday,” Enaje said.
San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago said the city government is allotting some P300,000 to ensure the safety and success of the annual Lenten rites. “There will be no income for the city, but there will be enormous benefits for the small and big businesses, not just in San Fernando, but in other cities and towns in Pampanga,” said Santiago, who joined Quiwa and Vice Mayor Jimmy Lazatin in the news conference.
Santiago said that hotels in nearby Angeles City will also benefit from the Holy Week rites at Pampanga’s capital city. He added that most foreigners who watch the annual crucifixion stay in Angeles City.
The Via Crucis Pasion was written by Ricardo Navarro in 1955. It has been used at the Lenten rites in San Pedro Cutud since 1955.
It was in 1962 when the first public crucifixion was done in San Pedro Cutud, about 70 kilometers North of Manila. Then aspiring faith healer Artemio Anoza was the first to be nailed on the cross and the first to take the role of Jesus Christ in the staging of the Passion.
Crucifixion rites are held in five other villages in this city on Good Friday—San Juan, Santa Lucia, San Pedro, San Nicolas and Northville.
CAPTION Bob Velez (right) and Ruben Enaje show the 5-inch nails to be used to nail them on the cross on Good Friday in barangay San Pedro Cutud, City of San Fernando.
Image credits: Joey Pavia