3 to join Bulacan crucifixion rites

PAOMBONG, Bulacan , Philippines  – Three people – including a woman – are set to be crucified on Good Friday here, tourism officials and organizers said yesterday.

The annual crucifixion rites remain open to foreigners, a year after an Australian TV comedian of Jewish descent misrepresented himself for the crucifixion.

However, tourism officials and organizers of the annual rites in Barangay Kapitangan said anybody who wants to join the crucifixion would have to undergo strict evaluation.

Businessman Alexie “Buboy” Dionisio, 32 and a fishpond operator, started joining crucifixion rites at 16.

He said this might be his last crucifixion, “depending on the message of God to me.”

Last year, Dionisio was joined by Australian TV comedian John Safran, who first identified himself as “Jon Michaels,” a Roman Catholic and student of the University of Melbourne, whose mother was said to be suffering from liver cancer.

However, he turned out to be a comedian with a television show called “Safran’s Race Relations.”

Even the Department of Tourism, (DOT) which endorsed Safran to the provincial tourism office in Malolos City, was caught flat-footed by Safran’s ruse.

According to Dinia Quetua, the provincial tourism office, Safran made good on his promise not to ridicule the annual rites.

“They sent me a copy of their show which they aired last October, but they did not ridicule the Bulakenyos,” said Quetua.

The STAR found clips of the show uploaded on the video sharing site www.youtube.com.

Quetua clarified they are not imposing a ban on foreigners who may want to join the annual crucifixion rites, but noted that they will have to go through a strict evaluation process.

Quetua said they learned their lesson after Safran fooled them last year.

The crucifixions started in the early 1970s and have become part of the rich Bulakenyo history, culture and traditions.

Aside from the annual crucifixion rites, there are older traditions in Kapitangan that has made it one of the top seven pilgrimage sites in the country.

Every Holy Wednesday night, they bathe the image of Sto. Cristo, the patron saint of the village, and villagers believe that the water used to bathe the Sto. Cristo has healing powers.