SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga \u2013 Ruben Enaje is near the end of his 27-year vow.
\nEnaje will be nailed to the cross for the 26th straight year today, Good Friday.
\nThe \u201ccrucifixion\u201d of Enaje and 20 other penitents has been the high point of the Good Friday observance in Barangay San Pedro Cutud, an event that draws thousands of the devout and the curious to the small village.
\nBut the 51-year-old artist feels he is getting too old to continue the ritual. \u201cI can already feel my body complaining,\u201d Enaje told the Manila Bulletin in Filipino.
\nHe looked at the huge wooden cross that he keeps in his workplace. \u201cThis will be my retirement cross. I put my heart into making this because this will be part of my last performance next year,\u201d he said.
\nNext year he will have completed his 27-year vow \u2013 nine years for each member of his family.
\n\u201cI think 27 years is enough… I have already told the organizers of the activity of my plan,\u201d Enaje said.
\nBeing nailed to the cross is his way of thanking God after he survived a fall from a three-storey building in 1985.
\nRemigio dela Cruz, barangay captain of San Pedro Cutud, said it would be difficult to find a replacement for Enaje.
\n\u201cEvery year, there are at least 14 persons being nailed here. What makes it difficult for us is to find someone with as good character as Ben\u2019s (Enaje),\u201d said dela Cruz.
\nThe first time he was nailed to the cross in 1986, Enaje said he felt more excited than nervous, and even watched as the nails were driven into his palms.
\n\u201cBeing chosen to play the role of Jesus comes with a responsibility, and that includes being a role model for the entire community,\u201d he said.
\nEnaje said one other reason he is quitting is the pressure from his neighbors who expect him to lead by example.
\n\u201cOne time, I shouted at a group of children playing in front of my house because they were very noisy and they were disturbing me, I was confronted later by one of the parents,\u201d Enaje said.
\n\u201cThey said someone who is nailed to the cross like Jesus Christ should not be ill-mannered,\u201d he said.
\nHe said his neighbors also accuse him of longing for media attention and making money out of the ritual.
\n\u201cEvery time the media visited me for an interview, some people here would immediately ask how much was given to me as payment for an interview,\u201d said Enaje.
\nEnaje said he had enough blessings to think of exploiting his vow.
\nAside from the protection he and his family have been receiving from God, he said he has enough means to buy a small truck and a tricycle.
\nHe also makes money from applying letters on streamers.
\nEnaje lamented what he described as the \u201ccommercialization\u201d of the ritual.
\nHe said he knew of at least three persons who had sold their performances in other parts of Luzon. One of them almost lost his right arm because of an infection, the other one was ostracized in the community since he would usually run wild after having a drink too many, and the third drowned in two-inch deep water.
\nAdriel Aguilar, of the San Fernando City Tourism Office, said the reenactment of Christ\u2019s crucifixion in the barangay started in 1955 as part of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), a tableau based on the passion of the Christ written by Ricardo Navarro.
\nIn 1962 when a quack doctor from the nearby Apalit town had himself nailed to the cross to fulfill his vision of becoming a religious leader and a full-fledged healer.
\n\u201cSince then, not a year has passed without an actual crucifixion taking place during reenactment,\u201d said Aguilar.
\nHe said Navarro\u2019s involvement in the tableau was passed on to his son Ricardo then to his grandson Allan who is the present director of the play.
\nEnaje took the lead role in the early 1990s and drew the attention of foreign communities via the internet.
\nIt became so popular that some foreigners also had themselves nailed to the cross.
\nIn 2006 a European, however, opted out just as was about to be nailed.
\nAt least 20 penitents are scheduled to be crucified today.
\nThere were advanced crucifixions. Last Wednesday, three penitents were nailed into crosses in Barangay Manibaug in Porac town.
\nPampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said the Church disapproves of the ritual.
\n\u201cThe Church does not want you to punish yourself with physical sufferings. Sincere reflection and doing good things to your neighbors are more important,\u201d Aniceto said.
\nCBCP President and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma echoed Aniceto\u2019s view, saying that the Church would rather have people renewing their faith than inflicting pain on themselves.
\n\u201cWhile we are trying to discourage these practices we cannot also judge their intention, especially those who have made it as their vow,\u201d Palma said.
\nPalma said the Church would rather have the faithful focus on the spiritual aspect of their lives than on external manifestations of their faith.
\n\u201cWe do not judge and condemn [the practice] but we discourage it,\u201d he added.
\nhttp:\/\/www.mb.com.ph\/articles\/356411\/crucifixion-star-nears-end-of-his-vow
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For reservations, comments and inquiries, <\/p>\n
Clearwater Resort & Country Club
\nCreekside Road corner of Centennial Road,
\nCentral Business District, Clark Freeport Zone,
\nPampanga, Philippines 2023<\/p>\n
Tel: (045)599-5949 0917-520-4403 0922-870-5177<\/p>\n
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\n3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
\nExchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
\n(632) 633-1566 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay or Kristine<\/p>\n
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Email: Inquiry@ClearwaterPhilippines.com<\/p>\n
Getting to this hotel in Clark Philippines
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