SAN JOSE, Antique – A breakaway group of the Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of San Jose, Antique province welcomed Easter by burning an effigy of Judas Iscariot in San Jose de Buenavista, the capital town of Antique in Panay Island.
A 10-FOOT effigy of Judas Iscariot is hanged and burned at the public plaza in Barangay San Pedro, San Jose town, Antique province highlighting the Easter commemoration of the Aglipayans. (Tara Yap)

The burning of the 10-foot effigy of Judas is an annual practice on the eve of Easter by the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church) in Barangay (village) San Pedro. “It’s the continuation of our Lenten commemoration,” said Fr. Eddie Ogatis, the parish priest of the church for the IFI followers known as Aglipayans. “This is our traditional way of partaking the lessons of Judas – his betrayal of Jesus and the remorse he felt later on,” Ogatis told Manila Bulletin. The effigy made of rice straws and stuffed with firecrackers is covered with a red linen cloth and is hung on triangular bamboo poles. When this effigy is set on fire, firecrackers underneath Judas’ red linen cloth escalate the burning. This Aglipayan tradition has been around a century and even replicated in the neighboring town of Sibalom.