14 volunteers nailed to crosses tomorrow

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — At least 14 volunteers have signed up to be nailed to wooden crosses in an annual re-enactment of the crucifixion here on Good Friday in Sitio Cutud, Barangay San Pedro.

Some 500 barefoot penitents, their faces covered with black cloth and their heads crowned with thorns, will start their dolorous march through the main streets here today.

Whipping their own backs with four-inch bamboo sticks called burillos, the penitents will join the procession to a makeshift "Golgotha," where they will be actually nailed to separate crosses.

San Pedro barangay chairman Zoilo Castro said several penitents have joined this ritual for years now as proof of their having repented for their "sins."

Castro said preparations are complete for the dramatization of the Via Crucis or "Way of the Cross" along a four-kilometer concrete road in the village where Ruben Enaje, 48, will play the role of Jesus Christ.

Enaje, a painter and father of four children, said this would be his fifth time to play the role of Jesus in the annual rites, although he has been nailed to the cross for the past 18 years.

He took over the role from Cito Sangalang, 48, a smoked fish factory operator who played Jesus for 15 years up to 2001.

The re-enactment of the Passion of Christ will start with Enaje’s "arrest," followed by his "conviction" and the carrying of the cross, as he is whipped by two residents clad in Roman soldiers’ uniforms, then led to an open rice field some four kilometers away.

Makeshift refreshment stalls were constructed along the side of the road where the procession will pass and parking spaces were designated for visitors who are expected to flock to the small village.

Chief Superintendent Rowland Albano, Central Luzon police director, said at least 300 policemen would be deployed to Barangay San Pedro to maintain peace and order.