‘Panata’ and ‘penitensya’ on Holy Week

By Gian Geronimo, VERA Files
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Jenny Silahis has been flagellating himself during Holy Week for the past 20 years.

When he was single, he did the penitensya or public penance to gain blessings including good health. When he got married, he added to his panata, or religious vow, prayers for his family. But, in 2008, his wife and his children left him.

Holy Week, the last week of the Lenten Season when Christians commemorate the last days of Jesus Christ on earth, is a time of great importance to the predominantly-Christian Filipinos.

The sufferings of Jesus Christ are recalled through Visita Iglesia (visiting seven churches) and Pabasa (the life, death, and resurrection of Christ sung). Some, however, go to the extreme and try to re-enact the beatings that Jesus Christ suffered in the hands of the Roman centurions.

The self-flagellants, mostly men, walk the streets during Holy Week under the heat of the sun, and subject themselves to pain by lashing their backs with instruments such as chains or bamboo.

From the word itself, penitensiya, the act of attempting to redeem one's self to God. People engage in self-flagellation because they want to show how sorry they are for things they did in the past.

Their penitence is part of a panata. The belief that God will grant their request if they go through physical pain.

Despite repeated warnings by the health department on the health risks and the Church's disapproval, many choose to continue the practice of self-flagellation.

Vic Naelga, a 67-year-old retired porter, has been doing self-flagellation since he was a teenager said he knows that the Church does not approve of their practice. "But what we do is right in the eyes of God," he insists.

Now too old to participate in penitensiya, Naelga guides the younger members of the Samahan ng mga Namamanata sa Birhen Dolores, a group of men mostly from Taytay, Rizal who practice self-flagellation.

Members of the Samahan, including Silahis, can be seen in the streets and in processions from Holy Thursday to Good Friday, masked and hitting their backs with chains, before opening the welts with a razor (called pangkidlit), after which they repeat the process all over again.

Carlos Bernardino, 41, a welder, is in his seventh year of penitensya. " This is my belief. I don't apply medication or anything at all (after penitensiya)."

A father of twin sons, Bernardino said he would not stop his children if they want to continue the practice when they grow up.

Ariel Tambioco, 36 and also in his seventh year of practicing self-flagellation, admitted that the process is painful. "But it is heartfelt, and it is for God, so you need to accept what you feel, the baking sun, the wounds," he said.

Armand Caballas, 24 and so far the youngest of the group, began self-flagellating when he was 21 years old. He said he was "far away from God" when he was younger. Upon realizing his mistake, he practiced self-flagellation for his family.

The slightly-built Caballas said he does not think about the pain. "Namamanata ako, eh (It's a vow.)"

Last Friday, they made their final appearance for the year as they joined the Amba Procession in Taytay. This procession is also known as the Santo Entierro or "holy burial."

In this procession, the dead figure of Christ, in repose and encased in a glass coffin is hauled by men through ropes from the Taytay parish, then around town, and back to the church again, similar to what is done in Quiapo during the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Thousands of the town's residents watched or joined the four-hour procession, which started at 5 p.m.

Three years have passed since Silahis' family left him, and still he continues his penitensya, praying for the return of his wife and children.

"But even if they do not return, I made a vow," he said. "Itutuloy at itutuloy ko ito (I will continue this)."

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Gian Geronimo is a journalism student of the University of the Philippines writing for VERA Files as part of his internship.

VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for "true."