Former Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is the overall chairman of Buhing Kalbaryo 2025. | CDN Photo/ Pia Piquero
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Overall chairman and former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama wants his name out of the spotlight in future stagings of Buhing Kalbaryo.
He said the decades-old Lenten street play should no longer be associated with him, but with the community that has kept the tradition alive.
“Next year, I don’t want my name over there,” Rama told reporters on April 18, shortly after the Good Friday reenactment.
“The word will be ‘we,’ not anymore Mike Rama. It’s about time nga what will be highlighting kay ‘we’ na, sila na. It has to be ‘we’ — we including you, the people, and all,” he added.
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Rama, who has served as the event’s overall chairman for years, said the shift marks a new chapter for the grassroots production, which for nearly three decades has relied on volunteers and donations rather than government support.
“Lisod man gud kaayo ang Buhing Kalbaryo i-organize kung walay apil tanan, mao nga ‘we’ na. Basta mao na na. The concept next year will be ‘we,’” he said.
Rama also said he will gradually step away from the lead organizing role, trusting that his family and long-serving volunteers, many of whom have been part of the production for 28 years, will continue to sustain the tradition.
“I’ll be just around. Naa naman si Mikel [Rama]. Langga [Malou Rama] already knows. My staff, many of them, 28 years na pod sila nag-serve sa Buhing Kalbaryo,” he said.
Now in its 28th year, Buhing Kalbaryo has grown into one of Cebu City’s most deeply rooted Holy Week traditions. The annual street play dramatizes the Passion, Crucifixion, and Death of Jesus Christ, using the inner streets of Barangays San Nicolas Proper, Calamba, and Guadalupe as its stage.
This year’s reenactment once again drew large crowds, as hundreds of spectators lined the procession route to watch volunteer performers bring the final hours of Christ to life, under the searing sun, with no curtain, no pay, and no professional actors.
The production, Rama stressed, remains an all-volunteer effort.
“This is purely bayanihan. Zero ang assistance from the city,” Rama previously told reporters.
“We don’t spend anything from government funds. Everything is given — from materials to meals — by the people who believe in this tradition,” he said.
READ: The PASSION of Jesus Christ
First staged in 1997, Buhing Kalbaryo has endured as both a spiritual expression and a grassroots initiative.
Organizers rely on private donations and the combined efforts of five barangays — San Nicolas Proper, Calamba, Guadalupe, Sapangdaku, and Kalunasan — to cover logistical needs, from stage props to costumes to meals for the cast.
Aside from food and necessities like shirts and sandals, cast members receive no monetary compensation.
“Kini silang mga cast, ang ilang madawat lang gyud pagkaon ug panabang. Mao ra gyud among ikasukli sa ilang pag-apil,” Rama said.
For many, participation in Buhing Kalbaryo has become a personal act of devotion, a family tradition, and a spiritual mission.
This year’s production featured between 120 to 150 performers, slightly fewer than in previous years, but organizers believe the 2025 edition delivered a more emotionally powerful experience, especially with the introduction of a new ending.
“In 28 years, this will be the first time mausab ang ending sa Buhing Kalbaryo. If ma-touch inyong heart sa opening, how much more sa ending,” said artistic director Almarie June Jacaban.
Rama also addressed criticisms that Buhing Kalbaryo is being politicized, especially given its close proximity to election seasons in previous years.
“This has been going on for 28 years. Unsa man, paundangon nila? It’s the people. It’s them, mga bata,” Rama said.
He dismissed accusations of political motive, asserting that his presence at the event has always been part of his commitment to the community, whether or not he is running for public office.
“Naa gyud akong presensya — ma election pa or dili. Dili na kalikay ana. Pagbuhat sad na silag ing-ana aron consistent pod sila. Oh, come on. Ato nalang na silang iampo,” he said.
Rama also brushed off legal questions raised over his involvement, saying he saw no violations in his role as an organizer.
“Kanang kiha-kiha, apil man gyud na. Pero wala ko kasabot asa ko niviolate. Dili man ko actor diha, naa ba koy mga relief nga gipang distribute? Katong naghunahuna ug violation, pag-ampo ra gud mo, pamalandong mo,” Rama said.
Despite the challenges, both logistical and political, Rama remains positive about the future of the event.
He said his hope is for Buhing Kalbaryo to remain a symbol of unity, faith, and grassroots collaboration in Cebu City, long after his name fades from its organizing banner.
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