JORDAN, Guimaras – For the second straight year, Balaan Bukid here would be closed to pilgrims this Holy Week.
Balaan Bukid is 558-foot mountain in Barangay Hoksyn. It has a church and a gigantic cross that can be seen from Iloilo City, and known for being a pilgrimage site of Catholic devotees especially during Lent.
Alongside the trail to the top of the mountain are 14 stations called “Way of the Cross” which depict significant events in the life of Jesus Christ.
Catholic pilgrims visit Balaan Bukid to be reminded of the suffering Jesus went through to save mankind.
Mayor Ruben Corpuz, in Executive Order No. 17, Series of 2020-02, ordered Balaan Bukid’s temporary closure effective 8 a.m. of March 31 to 8 a.m. of April 3 “to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”
“We limit assemblies and mass gatherings,” he stressed.
An average of 10,000 tourists both local and foreign visit Balaan Bukid every Holy Week.
On Good Friday, tourists watch the “Pagtaltal sa Balaan Bukid”, an open-air passion play on the death of Jesus Christ.
Corpuz also ordered the following:
* The Municipal Engineering Office shall secure barriers in all the possible entry points of Balaan Bukid on the said dates.
* Barangay Hoskyn and Barangay Balcon Melliza shall be responsible for securing the area of closure.
* Jordan Municipal Police Station shall deploy personnel for police visibility during the said dates.
* The Office of the Mayor and the Municipal Tourism Office shall be in-charge of the information dissemination and coordination.
“Pagtaltal sa Balaan Bukid” runs for three hours from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Evolving from a stage play to a street drama, it starts with the triumphant approach of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem portrayed at the plaza in Jordan’s Barangay Poblacion, and ends with “Pieta” at the highest point of Guimaras at the Balaan Bukid.
“Pagtaltal sa Balaan Bukid” has over 100 actors in period costumes followed by devotees as they walk for more than two kilometers passing 14 Stations of the Cross before reaching the mountain top.
“Pagtaltal” in Hiligaynon means “to remove” thus the street drama ends with the removal of crucified Jesus Christ from the cross and laid before the arms of His grieving mother Mary./PN
