Ruben Enaje, 58, again portrayed Christ on Friday in the traditional religious rite in Cutud village, about 76 km (47 miles) from the capital Manila.

“In the past, I went home injured and limping, but this year I feel so great,” Enaje said after the ritual held under a sweltering sun.

He said he believed his strong Catholic faith helped him avoid pain.

“I feel like he is telling me ‘go ahead, keep it up’,” he said, referring to God.

Easter is a festival marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

About 80 percent of the 105 million people in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, are Catholic.

Enaje said he felt strong enough to perform in two or three more crucifixions, until he turns 60.

Enaje was among three devotees nailed to wooden crosses in the village on Friday, including a woman taking part for the seventh time.

Actors wearing Roman soldier costumes attached the devotees to crosses by hammering two-inch nails soaked in alcohol through their hands and feet and hoisted them up in a field packed with domestic and foreign tourists.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines tolerates the ritual but says it does not support such gory displays of devotion, describing them as a “misinterpretation of faith”.

Many Catholics in the Philippines perform religious acts of penance during the Holy Week at Easter as a form of worship and supplication.

Some believe penance cleanses sins, cures illnesses and even leads to wishes coming true.

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Source: Reuters

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Cayamora Maute was taken to a hospital on Sunday afternoon after his blood pressure rose but he died along the way, the Philippines’ prison bureau said.

The May 23 occupation of Marawi City by the Maute group, led by his two sons and which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, triggered a brutal urban battle with military forces that entered its fourth month last week.

It has raised concern that Islamic State, on a back foot in Syria and Iraq, is building a regional base on the Philippine island of Mindanao that could pose a threat to neighboring Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore too.

More than 700 people, including 130 soldiers, have been killed since the militants, aided by foreign fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East, seized control of city of 200,000.

Maute had several ailments when he was taken into custody in June, including diabetes and hypertension, Xavier Solda, spokesman at the Bureau of Jail and Management and Penology told reporters.

The extent of his involvement in the group is not immediately clear but when he was arrested in June, a military spokesman expressed hope he could persuade his sons to stop fighting and surrender.

“This is an unfortunate incident for his family, but more so to the victims of terrorism in Marawi and their relatives who are awaiting justice and expecting that Cayamora would answer and atone for his involvement in the Marawi rebellion,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Eduaro Año said in a statement.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has extended martial law on the southern island of Mindanao until the end of the year, to give him time to crush the rebel movement.

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Source: Reuters

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