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Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said the gory practice was a distortion of Christ's teachings of love and selfless service. But he conceded that the church could not stop the ritual that he described as "popular piety".

Another bishop said people had to understand the folk Catholicism widely practiced in the Philippines, which has the largest Christian population in Asia. About 80% of its 96 million people are Catholic.

"We are in no position to suppress them," Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said.

"I do not think it is right to close our doors to them just because they are more attracted to these folk practices than to our Roman liturgy which they may find too foreign or cerebral."

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A circus-like atmosphere prevailed on a sun-drenched day.

"It's my first time to witness a man being crucified," said Charlotte Johansen, 26, a Norwegian non-government organisation worker, was taking pictures with her friends.

The village of Cutud has built the hill with three crosses for the main ceremony with crucifixions also taking place in two nearby villages.

Souvenir and food vendors staked out the hill and people selling ice-cream and sodas wandered among the crowd.

"The crucifixions here have become a purely tourism event," said an official from the area, who handles accreditation for the flock of journalists which descends every year.

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