Reviving the chant: How Cebu’s ‘Pasyonistas’ keep a Holy Week tradition alive (2025)

The age-old tradition of the Pabasa is slowly fading from many parts of the country but in some of Cebu's historical sites, faith holds its ground

CEBU, Philippines – Against the backdrop of the weathered Sandiego-Yap ancestral house in Cebu City, a haunting melodic chant echoed through the air on Palm Sunday, April 13.

It wasn’t just the sound of prayer. It was a centuries-old act of devotion, led by a group of Filipino women, who are known as the “Pasyonistas” (Passionists).

The passionists gathered in the antique sala of the heritage home in Parian, singing the Pasyon, a poetic narrative of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The age-old tradition, known locally as the Pabasa, is slowly fading from many parts of the country. But in this corner found near Cebu’s historical Colon Street, faith holds its ground.

“We started doing the Pasyon 10 or 11 years ago,” Beatrice Fajardo Ramos, a member of the group from San Roque Parish in Barangay Carreta, told Rappler.

According to Ramos, their chanting often starts from Ash Wednesday and ends on Good Friday. Many of the women are in their senior years yet travel long distances between Barangay Carreta to Barangay Parian — a stretch of almost 2 kilometers from each other — most times enduring the summer heat or strong rain.

“Some of our members have already passed away, but we continue this as a symbol of their deep devotion or Panata,” Ramos said.

Rare yet preserved

The practice of the Pabasa used to be widespread in Cebu, a common scene in barangays where communities would take turns chanting throughout the day and night. Now, it’s a rarity.

Father Jonathan Rubin of the Cebu Archdiocesan Shrine of San Pedro Calungsod expressed his concern over the waning trend of the religious tradition.

“It’s a good tradition that would have helped not just the young but all ages to deepen their reflections and prayer especially this Holy Week,” he said.

“The challenge is, we rarely see and hear people, communities, or even parishes doing it anymore. Even the attendance to our main Holy Week services and commemorations has also been decreasing, maybe due to less interest or the prioritizing of vacation and entertainment for some,” the priest added.

Inside the Sandiego-Yap ancestral house, however, history, faith, and culture intersect.

As tourists pass by its thick coral stone walls, a sacred sound seeps through the capiz shell windows, a reminder that even as times change, some voices still choose to remember.

“Every verse we sing is a prayer… We’re not just reading a story, we’re offering our lives, our time, our memories to God,” Ramos said.

Even as Holy Week traditions slowly fade in the din of modern life, the Pasyonistas of Barangay Carreta continue to sing with their voices carrying a quiet faith that keeps the ways of the past ever so alive.

– Rappler.com