As we celebrate Philippine Traditional and Alternative Medicine Month, I invite you to reflect on a vital question: How well do Filipinos—both here and abroad—truly understand Hilot? For many of us, Hilot is a memory passed down from our lolo, lola, nanay, tatay, tito, and tita. It is a healing tradition rooted in our homes and communities. Yet today, Hilot is often mistaken for mere massage therapy offered in luxury spas, stripped of its deeper wisdom and purpose.
Let me ask: Do we still remember what “Pilay” is? Do we still recognize the Manghihilot as the community’s first line of defense in health care?
Sadly, our Traditional Healing Arts and Sciences are being commercialized and standardized in ways that leave ordinary Filipinos disconnected from their own healing heritage. Once, the Manghihilot was a trusted health care provider in the barangay. Now, even prescribing herbal remedies requires a medical license.
I have been monitoring the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) from 2020 to 2023, and I ask: Where is the support for Hilot? As of this year, only 27 Manghihilot practitioners are listed in PITAHC’s registry. Compare this to other modalities:
- Certified Acupuncture Practitioners: 1,099
- Certified Chiropractic Practitioners: 87
- Certified Naturopath Practitioners: 249
- Certified Hilot Practitioners: 27
This disparity is alarming. PITAHC’s mandate clearly states its goal to promote safe, effective, and culturally consistent health care modalities. But where is the Indigenous Traditional Medicine of the Filipino people in this promotion?
Our elder Manghihilot are aging. If we do not act now, their wisdom will be lost forever.
I respectfully call on PITAHC to:
- Recognize Manghihilot in the barrios without charging registration fees.
- Make Hilot Congress attendance free, especially for grassroots healers.
- Allocate government funds toward Filipino traditional medicine—not just foreign modalities.
- Extend PITAHC’s reach to regional, provincial, city, and municipal health centers to identify and support Manghihilot in every barangay.
- Issue a memorandum circular to protect Hilot practices, just as one was issued to regulate Hilot Paanak.
- Include accredited Hilot Healing Centers in PhilHealth coverage, just like birthing centers.
To all Manghihilot—whether certified by TESDA, PITAHC, or trained through ancestral lineage—you have the right to be recognized.
Join me on November 8, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM for a Free Online Webinar via Google Meet. Let us come together to reclaim our healing traditions and advocate for their rightful place in our national health care system.
Register here: https://forms.gle/9dScvdYnDB8gCPcc8
Maraming salamat po, at nawa’y pagpalain tayo ng ating mga ninuno at ng mga Diwata ng Kagalingan!
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan 