Act of penance

Dressed as Roman soldiers, men scour the town plaza in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro as part of its Centurion (Moriones) festival, which started on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday with the ‘beheading’ of Longinus, the one-eyed Roman soldier who, legend says, regained his eyesight after stabbing Jesus while nailed at the cross. The activity is patterned after the Moriones festival of Marinduque province, where many residents of Pinamalayan trace their roots. Pinamalayan Tourism Office