Hilot, Divine Lineage, and the Sacred Practice of Pakikipagkapwa: Why Hilot Does Not Require a Babaylan Bloodline

In recent years, discussions about Filipino traditional healing have become more visible in academic, cultural, and spiritual circles. One claim occasionally presented is that a person can only become a true manghihilot if they possess a direct lineage from a Babaylan. While this perspective may arise from a sincere desire to honor indigenous traditions, it risks reducing the rich diversity of Filipino healing practices into a narrow and historically inaccurate framework.

The truth is that Hilot has never belonged exclusively to Babaylans.

Hilot belongs to the Filipino people.

Hilot as a Living Tradition of Every Filipino Family

For generations, Filipino families have practiced their own forms of healthcare and healing within their homes and communities. Long before hospitals, professional healthcare systems, or formal institutions existed, families cared for one another through practical knowledge handed down from parents, grandparents, and elders.

Many Filipinos can recall childhood experiences of being massaged by a grandmother for “lamig,” having herbal preparations applied to the body, receiving treatments for pilay or strain, or learning traditional ways of caring for the sick. These practices existed not because every family descended from a Babaylan, but because every family carried the responsibility of preserving life and wellbeing.

Hilot emerged from the fundamental human desire to care for oneself and others.

To suggest that all manghihilot must trace their lineage to a Babaylan would mean disregarding the countless Filipino mothers, fathers, lolos, lolas, aunts, and uncles who have faithfully maintained healing knowledge within their own families for generations.

The history of Hilot is much broader than the history of the Babaylan.

The Responsibility of Self-Care

At its deepest level, healing begins with personal responsibility.

Every living being is entrusted with the care of their own body, mind, and spirit. The desire to live, to heal, and to maintain wellbeing is not a privilege granted only to specialists or religious practitioners. It is an inherent responsibility that comes with life itself.

A person does not need permission from a spiritual lineage to care for a wound, soothe pain, restore balance, improve health, or learn how to care for family members.

The preservation of life is a sacred duty shared by all.

This understanding forms one of the foundations of traditional Filipino healing. Health is not solely the responsibility of experts. It is a collective responsibility that begins with the individual and extends outward to family, community, and society.

When Pakikipagkapwa Becomes Healing

There are moments when a person can no longer fully care for themselves.

Illness, injury, disability, old age, grief, emotional suffering, and periods of weakness create situations where one needs the assistance of others.

This is where the Filipino value of pakikipagkapwa becomes visible.

Pakikipagkapwa is more than kindness. It is the recognition that another person’s wellbeing is connected to our own. It is the understanding that we are not isolated individuals but participants in a shared human existence.

When a manghihilot offers comfort to someone in pain, they embody pakikipagkapwa.

When a community gathers to help a sick neighbor, they embody pakikipagkapwa.

When family members care for an aging loved one, they embody pakikipagkapwa.

Healing is not merely a clinical act. It is an expression of our interconnectedness.

The Divine Lineage Shared by All

One of the misconceptions surrounding lineage is the belief that sacred authority belongs only to a select group of blood descendants.

Yet many Indigenous Filipino spiritual teachings recognize a deeper truth.

Every human being originates from the same sacred source.

Every person carries a divine spark.

Every person participates in the gift of life bestowed by the Creator, the Great Source, or the Dakilang Maykapal.

If we speak of lineage, then our first lineage is not biological but spiritual.

We all belong to the family of life.

We all share a divine ancestry.

We all emerge from the same sacred mystery.

This understanding transforms healing from an exclusive inheritance into a universal vocation. The ability to show compassion, provide comfort, reduce suffering, and preserve life is not reserved for a chosen bloodline.

It is part of our shared humanity.

Understanding the Role of the Babaylan

Recognizing that Hilot does not require Babaylan lineage does not diminish the importance of the Babaylan.

On the contrary, it allows us to understand the Babaylan more accurately.

Historically, the Babaylan occupied a specialized role within the community. They served as ritual leaders, spiritual mediators, wisdom keepers, counselors, and custodians of communal traditions. Their responsibilities often extended beyond healing into ceremony, conflict resolution, communication with spirits, agricultural rites, and the maintenance of social harmony.

The Babaylan was not simply a healer.

The Babaylan was a facilitator of relationships.

A bridge.

A connector.

A guide.

In contemporary language, we might say that the Babaylan’s deepest function was to facilitate pakikipagkapwa between people, community, nature, ancestors, spirits, and the Divine.

Their role was not to monopolize healing but to nurture the sacred relationships that make healing possible.

Hilot Beyond Bloodline

The future of Hilot depends not on proving bloodline but on embodying values.

A true manghihilot is known less by ancestry and more by character.

They demonstrate compassion.

They cultivate knowledge.

They respect life.

They practice integrity.

They honor the dignity of those they serve.

They recognize the limits of their competence and work responsibly alongside modern healthcare systems when necessary.

Most importantly, they understand that healing is an act of service rather than a claim of superiority.

The essence of Hilot is not found in genealogy.

It is found in the compassionate application of knowledge for the wellbeing of others.

Conclusion

Hilot is a living healing tradition that belongs to the Filipino people. While Babaylans have played vital roles in the spiritual and cultural life of many Filipino communities, the practice of Hilot itself has never been limited to those who possess a Babaylan lineage.

Every family has the capacity to nurture health.

Every community has the responsibility to care for its members.

Every human being shares a divine lineage that originates from the same sacred source.

The role of the Babaylan is not to restrict access to healing but to deepen our understanding of pakikipagkapwa, reminding us that service to another is ultimately service to oneself, because all life is interconnected.

When we care for another person, we honor the sacred gift of life.

When we relieve suffering, we participate in a holy act.

And when we practice Hilot with wisdom, compassion, and integrity, we continue a tradition that has always belonged to the people, nourished by the spirit of pakikipagkapwa, and rooted in the divine lineage shared by all humanity.

Hilot Binabaylan: Preserving Integrity Through a Living Healing Tradition

An Expanded Reflection on the Hilot Binabaylan Code of Ethics

Introduction: Why Hilot Binabaylan Is a Living Healing Tradition

One of the most common questions asked by those who encounter Hilot Binabaylan is:

“Why does it seem different from the hilot practiced by my grandparents or the traditional healer I knew as a child?”

The answer lies in understanding the nature of tradition itself.

Many people imagine tradition as something frozen in time, preserved exactly as it existed generations ago. Yet throughout human history, living traditions have survived precisely because they adapted to new circumstances while maintaining their essential purpose.

Hilot is one such tradition.

For centuries, Filipino communities developed their own healthcare systems according to their environment, available resources, cultural worldview, and inherited wisdom. The hilot of Cavite may not be identical to the hilot of Bulacan, Mindanao, Bicol, Samar, or the Cordilleras. Each community developed unique methods, diagnostic systems, ritual practices, and approaches to healing.

This diversity does not weaken Hilot. Rather, it demonstrates its vitality.

Hilot Binabaylan recognizes that tradition is not merely inherited; it is also lived, practiced, tested, refined, and transmitted to future generations.

A tradition ceases to live when it can no longer respond to the needs of the people. A living tradition continues to evolve while remaining faithful to its original purpose.

The purpose of Hilot has always been the promotion of health, restoration of balance, relief of suffering, and support for the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

The techniques may evolve.

The tools may evolve.

The language may evolve.

Even the understanding of health may evolve.

But the mission remains the same.

For this reason, Hilot Binabaylan regards itself as both:

A guardian of ancestral wisdom.
A participant in modern healthcare realities.

The integrity of Hilot Binabaylan is therefore not maintained by copying the past exactly as it was, but by faithfully carrying its values into the present and the future.

This philosophy is expressed throughout the Hilot Binabaylan Code of Ethics.

The Hilot Binabaylan Code of Ethics

The Purpose of the Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics exists to guide the conduct of every Manghihilot.

Ethics are more important than techniques. A practitioner may possess great knowledge and skill, but without ethical integrity such knowledge can be misused.

The Code serves as a shared covenant between practitioner and community. It establishes the values, responsibilities, limitations, and expectations that govern the practice of Hilot Binabaylan.

It also protects those who seek help by ensuring that practitioners remain accountable for their actions.

Through the Code, the public understands what standards a Manghihilot is expected to uphold.

1. The Manghihilot as a Healthcare Provider

Ethical Principle

As Manghihilot, we are healthcare providers whose goals consist of:

Prevention of premature death and disability.
Maintenance and improvement of life.
Promotion of personal growth and development.
Preparation for a good and dignified death.

Expanded Reflection

The work of a Manghihilot extends beyond the treatment of pain or discomfort.

Healthcare is not merely the absence of disease.

Health encompasses physical vitality, emotional stability, mental clarity, spiritual harmony, and meaningful relationships.

The Manghihilot accompanies individuals throughout all stages of life.

This includes:

Preventing illness before it manifests.
Helping individuals restore balance.
Supporting recovery and rehabilitation.
Encouraging healthy living practices.
Assisting families facing terminal illness and end-of-life transitions.

The Manghihilot therefore serves as a health educator, wellness guide, cultural healer, and community caregiver.

2. Hilot as Traditional Medicine

Ethical Principle

As Manghihilot, we are traditional medicine practitioners whose practice is rooted in ancestral knowledge.

Expanded Reflection

Traditional medicine represents the accumulated observations and experiences of generations.

Long before hospitals existed, communities relied upon indigenous healing systems to maintain health.

Hilot emerged from careful observation of:

The human body.
Patterns of illness.
The healing effects of touch.
Herbal medicine.
Environmental influences.
Spiritual and emotional wellbeing.

Hilot Binabaylan recognizes the value of this ancestral inheritance.

At the same time, the tradition continues to learn.

The wisdom of the ancestors is not dishonored by learning new knowledge. Rather, it is honored when future generations continue their spirit of inquiry and exploration.

Traditional knowledge and modern knowledge need not be enemies.

Both may work together for the benefit of humanity.

3. Facilitating the Natural Healing Capacity of the Individual

Ethical Principle

Every individual possesses an innate ability to heal.

Expanded Reflection

One of the most profound teachings within Hilot Binabaylan is that healing does not originate from the healer.

The practitioner does not “give” health to another person.

Instead, the Manghihilot helps create conditions that allow the person’s natural healing capacities to function more effectively.

The body continuously seeks balance.

The mind seeks clarity.

The spirit seeks harmony.

The role of the Manghihilot is to support these natural processes.

This principle encourages humility.

The healer is not a miracle worker.

The healer is a facilitator of healing.

True healing ultimately arises from within the individual.

4. Recognizing Professional Limitations

Ethical Principle

We do not treat conditions beyond our knowledge and competence.

Expanded Reflection

One of the greatest expressions of integrity is the willingness to admit limitations.

No healthcare practitioner knows everything.

A Manghihilot who claims to cure all illnesses endangers both the client and the tradition itself.

Wisdom includes recognizing when another professional is better equipped to address a specific condition.

A responsible practitioner will refer clients to:

Physicians
Nurses
Psychologists
Physical Therapists
Other appropriate healthcare professionals

When necessary.

Referral is not weakness.

Referral is ethical responsibility.

5. Lifelong Learning and Evolution

Ethical Principle

A Manghihilot must remain open to learning and growth.

Expanded Reflection

This principle stands at the heart of Hilot Binabaylan as a living healing tradition.

Many healing systems disappear because they become resistant to adaptation.

Hilot Binabaylan chooses a different path.

We recognize that:

New health challenges emerge.
New scientific discoveries appear.
Society changes.
Communities evolve.

If Hilot is to remain beneficial for future generations, practitioners must continue learning.

This does not mean abandoning tradition.

It means allowing tradition to grow.

A tree remains alive because it continues to produce new leaves while remaining rooted in the same soil.

Similarly, Hilot remains rooted in ancestral wisdom while extending its branches toward future possibilities.

6. Respect for Human Rights and Informed Consent

Ethical Principle

Every person possesses dignity and fundamental rights.

Expanded Reflection

No individual should receive treatment without understanding what is being done and why it is being done.

Before treatment, the Manghihilot should explain:

The assessment process.
The proposed treatment.
Expected outcomes.
Possible limitations.

The individual retains the right to:

Accept treatment.
Refuse treatment.
Ask questions.
Seek alternative opinions.

Respect for autonomy is an essential element of ethical healing.

7. Tawas and Holistic Assessment

Ethical Principle

Assessment must precede treatment.

Expanded Reflection

A Manghihilot does not merely react to symptoms.

Through assessment practices such as Tawas and other traditional investigative methods, practitioners attempt to understand the condition of the individual.

The purpose of assessment is not superstition nor blind assumption.

Its purpose is discernment.

The practitioner seeks to understand:

Physical manifestations.
Emotional influences.
Environmental factors.
Social circumstances.
Spiritual concerns.

Only after assessment can an appropriate care plan be developed.

8. The Recognition of Spiritual Illness

Ethical Principle

Human suffering may have physical, emotional, psychological, social, or spiritual dimensions.

Expanded Reflection

Hilot Binabaylan acknowledges that human beings possess interconnected dimensions of existence.

Physical symptoms are sometimes accompanied by:

Grief
Trauma
Fear
Anxiety
Emotional burden
Spiritual distress

The tradition recognizes that suffering may affect the whole person.

For this reason, rituals may be employed to facilitate:

Emotional release
Reflection
Reconciliation
Spiritual comfort
Community support

These practices do not replace appropriate medical or psychological care when needed.

Rather, they address dimensions of human experience that individuals may find meaningful within their cultural and spiritual framework.

9. Honoring Individual Uniqueness

Ethical Principle

Every individual is unique.

Expanded Reflection

No two people are exactly alike.

Two individuals may experience:

Similar symptoms.
Similar diagnoses.
Similar circumstances.

Yet their healing journey may differ greatly.

Hilot Binabaylan therefore rejects a one-size-fits-all approach.

Each individual:

Carries a unique history.
Possesses unique strengths.
Faces unique challenges.
Responds differently to treatment.

The Manghihilot adapts their approach to meet the needs of the person rather than forcing the person to fit a predetermined treatment model.

10. Integration with Modern Healthcare

Ethical Principle

Traditional and conventional healthcare may work together.

Expanded Reflection

Hilot Binabaylan does not position itself in opposition to modern medicine.

Both systems possess strengths.

Modern medicine excels in:

Emergency care.
Surgery.
Diagnostic technology.
Management of complex diseases.

Traditional healing may contribute through:

Health promotion.
Wellness education.
Cultural relevance.
Community-based care.
Holistic support.

Rather than creating division, Hilot Binabaylan encourages collaboration whenever appropriate.

The ultimate concern is the wellbeing of the individual.

11. Personal Responsibility in Health

Ethical Principle

Health requires active participation by the individual.

Expanded Reflection

A Manghihilot may provide guidance and assistance, but healing cannot occur through passive dependence alone.

Individuals must also participate in their own wellbeing through:

Healthy lifestyle choices.
Seeking appropriate healthcare.
Following recommendations responsibly.
Developing self-awareness.

Likewise, serious illnesses require proper medical evaluation.

Ethical practice demands that chronic and potentially life-threatening conditions receive appropriate medical attention before Hilot interventions are considered.

The Manghihilot supports healthcare, but does not replace necessary medical care.

Conclusion: Integrity Through Ethical Living

The integrity of Hilot Binabaylan is not preserved by insisting that every practitioner perform healing exactly as it was done centuries ago.

Nor is it preserved by rejecting new knowledge.

Integrity is preserved through faithful adherence to ethical principles.

It is maintained when practitioners remain humble enough to acknowledge their limitations, courageous enough to continue learning, compassionate enough to honor human dignity, and wise enough to integrate ancestral knowledge with contemporary realities.

Hilot Binabaylan is a living healing tradition because it continues to breathe, grow, learn, adapt, and serve.

Its roots remain deeply planted in the wisdom of Filipino ancestors.

Its branches continue to reach toward the future.

And as long as there are Manghihilot who embody its values, the tradition will remain alive, relevant, and capable of bringing healing to generations yet to come.

Nature Walk: The First Lesson of a Hilot Binabaylan

Relearning Respect, Relationship, and Reverence for Nature Before the Making of Healing Lana Oil

One of the most unique aspects of the Hilot Binabaylan Training Program is that healing does not begin with herbs, oils, prayers, or techniques. Instead, it begins with a walk.

Before students learn the sacred art of preparing Healing Lana Oil, they are invited to participate in a Nature Walk, an experiential learning activity that reconnects them with the living world around them. Whether this walk takes place inside a forest park, along a beach shoreline, beside a river, or even around a neighborhood block in a busy urban city, the intention remains the same: to cultivate respect, awareness, humility, and relationship with the natural world.

The Forgotten Wisdom of Our Ancestors

In traditional Filipino culture, people were taught that humans are not the sole inhabitants of the world. Our ancestors understood that the forests, mountains, rivers, seas, and even ancient trees are inhabited by many forms of life, both visible and invisible.

For this reason, whenever entering unfamiliar places, people would respectfully say:

“Tabi-tabi po.”

“Please excuse us. We humbly ask permission to pass.”

Likewise, when approaching another person’s home, they would call out:

“Tao po.”

“A person is here.”

These simple words reflect an important cultural teaching: respect before entry.

One does not assume ownership of every place one steps into. One acknowledges that a place already has inhabitants, guardians, and relationships that existed before their arrival.

Sadly, modern society often teaches us the opposite. We are encouraged to think of nature as a resource to be used, exploited, purchased, or controlled. The ancient Filipino worldview reminds us that nature is not merely property; it is community.

Entering Nature as a Guest

During the Nature Walk, students are encouraged to shift their perspective.

Rather than seeing themselves as visitors observing nature from the outside, they begin to see themselves as participants within a larger living community.

As they walk beneath the trees, listen to birdsong, feel the wind, and observe the rhythm of life around them, they are invited to reflect:

What does it mean to belong to nature?
How does nature support human life daily?
What responsibilities do we carry toward the places that nourish us?
How can healing begin through relationship rather than extraction?

Through direct experience, students begin to understand that they are not separate from nature.

They are nature.

The breath within their lungs comes from the trees. The water in their bodies comes from the rivers and rains. The warmth that sustains life comes from the sun. The healing plants they seek are gifts from the earth.

Asking Permission Before Receiving

One of the most important lessons of the Nature Walk occurs when students encounter medicinal plants, healing herbs, stones, or natural materials that may be used later for ceremonies or healing preparations.

Rather than simply taking what they need, students are taught to approach these gifts with gratitude and respect.

They learn to ask permission.

To many modern minds, this practice may seem unusual. Yet a simple question helps us understand its importance:

How would you feel if someone entered your home without permission?

What if they opened your door, walked through your rooms, and took something that belonged to you without asking?

Most people would feel disrespected, violated, or offended.

If we expect respect from others regarding our homes and belongings, should we not extend the same courtesy to the natural world that sustains our lives?

The practice of asking permission is not merely a spiritual ritual. It is an exercise in humility. It reminds students that healing begins with gratitude, not entitlement.

Learning from the True Elders

Within the teachings of Hilot Binabaylan, the ancient forests, mountains, waters, winds, and sacred places are regarded as the dwelling places of the True Babaylan, the ancient ones who came before us.

While human beings may live for decades, many trees have stood for centuries. Rivers have flowed through generations. Mountains have witnessed countless lives rise and fall.

In this sense, nature itself becomes an elder.

The ancient ones have been teaching long before humans built their schools, temples, and cities. They teach through patience, balance, resilience, adaptation, and harmony.

During the Nature Walk, students are invited to listen.

Not merely with their ears, but with their hearts.

To walk slowly.

To observe deeply.

To recognize that wisdom does not always come from books or lectures. Sometimes wisdom is found in the silence of a forest trail, the rhythm of ocean waves, or the stillness beneath an old tree.

Preparing for Healing Lana Oil

The Nature Walk serves as an essential foundation for the Healing Lana Oil Making Class.

Before students touch the herbs, before they prepare the oils, and before they learn the sacred applications of Lana, they must first understand the relationship behind the medicine.

The herbs are not merely ingredients.

They are relatives.

They are partners in healing.

The oil is not simply a product.

It is a vessel that carries the gifts of nature and the prayers of the healer.

When students gather materials with respect, gratitude, and awareness, they bring these qualities into every stage of the healing process.

A Return to Sacred Relationship

At its heart, the Nature Walk is not about hiking.

It is not about exercise.

It is not even about collecting plants.

It is about remembering an ancient relationship that many people have forgotten.

The Hilot Binabaylan tradition teaches that healing begins when we restore respectful relationships: with ourselves, with our ancestors, with our communities, and with the living world around us.

Every step taken along a forest path, a shoreline, or a city street becomes an opportunity to practice this sacred relationship.

By saying “Tabi-tabi po,” we learn humility.

By asking permission, we learn respect.

By walking gently, we learn awareness.

By receiving nature’s gifts with gratitude, we learn reciprocity.

And through these lessons, we begin to rediscover what our ancestors always knew:

The Earth is not merely where we live. It is a community to which we belong.

Hilot Academy of Binabaylan continues to preserve and promote Indigenous Filipino healing wisdom by teaching future Manghihilot and Binabaylan not only how to heal, but how to walk gently and respectfully within the sacred web of life from which all healing flows.

Is a Particular Religion or Spiritual Belief Required to Study Hilot Binabaylan?

One of the most common questions we receive from prospective students, especially those coming from different countries and cultural backgrounds, is:

“The program includes traditional Filipino spiritual beliefs and practices. Is any particular religious or spiritual belief expected from participants, or is the program approached primarily from a cultural and educational perspective?”

The short answer is:

No, participants are not required to adopt any particular religion, spiritual path, or belief system in order to study Hilot Binabaylan.

However, understanding the deeper context of Hilot requires us to recognize that Hilot did not emerge solely as a physical healing technique. It developed within the broader worldview of Indigenous Filipino Spirituality, where health, wellness, community, nature, and spirituality are interconnected aspects of life.

Hilot Is More Than Physical Healing

Today, Hilot is widely recognized in the Philippines as a traditional healing practice and healthcare modality. It has received recognition through government institutions such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC).

Yet, Hilot has always been much more than the treatment of physical discomfort.

Traditional Hilot recognizes that a person’s well-being is influenced by multiple dimensions of life:

Physical Health
Emotional Well-being
Mental Wellness
Social Relationships
Spiritual Balance

For this reason, Hilot is often described as a holistic healing tradition.

As I often tell my students, a human being is not merely a physical body. A person possesses body, soul, and spirit. These dimensions work together to create a living, functioning, and healthy individual.

If healthcare focuses exclusively on the physical body, then it concerns only one aspect of the human experience. A mortician also works with the physical body, yet healing involves much more than preserving physical form.

A true Hilot practitioner therefore seeks to understand not only anatomy and physiology, but also the deeper dimensions of human existence. In Hilot Binabaylan, we study what may be called the “anatomy of the soul” and the “anatomy of the spirit” alongside the physical body.

Indigenous Filipino Spirituality as a Foundation

Hilot Binabaylan is rooted in Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Sciences. As such, many of its concepts, philosophies, and healing approaches arise from Indigenous Filipino Spirituality.

This spirituality serves as a cultural and philosophical foundation from which many healing principles are derived.

It is important to understand that Indigenous Filipino Spirituality is not necessarily the same as organized religion.

Rather than prescribing a specific creed that every student must believe, it offers a way of understanding:

Humanity’s relationship with nature
Respect for ancestors and cultural heritage
The interconnectedness of life
Community responsibility
Holistic wellness
The sacredness of healing work

Students are encouraged to learn and understand these concepts as part of their educational journey, regardless of their personal religious affiliation.

Students of Different Faiths Are Welcome

Throughout the years, students from various backgrounds have shown interest in Hilot Binabaylan:

Christians
Catholics
Protestants
Indigenous practitioners
Spiritual seekers
Healthcare professionals
Individuals with no religious affiliation

Participation in the program does not require abandoning one’s existing faith, cultural identity, or personal spiritual beliefs.

Learning Hilot Binabaylan does not make someone Filipino, nor does it require becoming part of a Filipino religious movement.

Instead, students are invited to learn from the wisdom of Indigenous Filipino healing traditions and explore how these teachings can complement their existing worldview, profession, or healing practice.

Just as one may study Traditional Chinese Medicine without becoming Chinese, or Ayurveda without becoming Indian, one may study Hilot Binabaylan while honoring their own cultural and spiritual heritage.

Beyond Information: The Goal Is Practice

At Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, our goal is not simply to produce individuals who possess information about Hilot.

Our goal is to develop practitioners.

There is an important difference between knowledge and practice.

Knowledge stored only in books can be forgotten.

Information that remains only in the mind can fade over time.

But wisdom gained through actual practice continues to deepen and grow through experience.

Every client served, every case encountered, every healing session performed becomes part of the practitioner’s continuing education.

For this reason, Hilot Binabaylan is taught as a living tradition rather than a historical artifact.

Keeping Hilot Alive

Many cultural traditions around the world have been preserved in museums, archives, and academic papers. While documentation is important, a tradition survives most fully when it continues to be practiced.

Our vision at Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is not merely to preserve Hilot as something that existed in the past.

We seek to support Hilot as a living, evolving, and relevant healing tradition.

We want Hilot to remain:

Interactive rather than static
Experiential rather than purely theoretical
Practical rather than merely historical
Progressive while honoring tradition
Adaptable to present and future generations

Traditions remain alive when they are practiced, refined, and shared responsibly.

Our Educational Approach

The Hilot Binabaylan Program is therefore approached from both a cultural and experiential perspective.

Students are introduced to Indigenous Filipino spiritual concepts because they are essential to understanding the historical and philosophical foundations of Hilot. However, participants are not required to convert to any belief system.

What is expected is openness to learning, cultural respect, and a willingness to engage with the tradition in a meaningful and responsible way.

The goal is not to tell students what they must believe.

The goal is to help students understand how generations of Filipino healers viewed health, wellness, life, community, nature, and the healing process itself.

In doing so, students gain not only knowledge of a healing modality, but also a deeper appreciation for one of the Philippines’ most enduring cultural treasures.

At Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, we believe that traditions are best preserved not by placing them behind glass, but by placing them into practice. Through study, experience, and responsible application, Hilot continues to grow as a living embodiment of Indigenous Filipino healing wisdom for the modern world.

Leaving the Comfort Zone: A Sacred Mission to Reawaken Filipino Ancestral Healing Across America

On September 8, 2026, I will take a significant step beyond my comfort zone as I embark on a sacred outreach mission to the United States of America. My flight departs the Philippines at 6:45 PM and arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii, at 11:20 AM on the same date. Because of the international date line, it may appear that I am traveling backward in time. Yet beyond this interesting phenomenon lies a much deeper purpose: carrying the healing wisdom of our ancestors across the Pacific Ocean to reach Filipinos living abroad.

This journey is not simply about travel. It is a pilgrimage of service, education, cultural preservation, and spiritual reconnection.

My first destination will be the St. Anthony Retreat Center in Kalihi, Honolulu, where from September 9-16, 2026, I will facilitate the Hilot Binabaylan Informed Certification Program. For eight intensive days, participants will gather from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM to learn, experience, and reconnect with the sacred healing traditions of our Filipino ancestors.

Following Hawaii, my mission continues to Long Beach, California, from September 22-30, 2026, where I will once again offer the Hilot Binabaylan Informed Certification Program. Then, from October 22-30, 2026, the outreach extends to Oakland, California, bringing the same teachings to another Filipino community seeking to reconnect with its cultural roots and ancestral wisdom.

More Than Geography: Reaching Filipinos Wherever They Are

To be Filipino is more than merely being born within the geographical boundaries of the Philippines. Today, Filipino identity extends across continents, oceans, and generations.

Millions of Filipinos and Filipino descendants now live abroad. Many have inherited Filipino blood, family traditions, values, resilience, and stories from their ancestors, even if they were born in another country. While distance may separate us from our homeland, the ancestral spirit remains alive within us.

The mission of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is rooted in the belief that every Filipino, whether in Manila, Hawaii, California, Toronto, Sydney, or elsewhere in the world, deserves the opportunity to rediscover the healing gifts of their ancestors.

Many second- and third-generation Filipinos abroad grow up asking important questions:

Who are my ancestors?
What was Filipino spirituality before colonization?
What were the healing traditions practiced by my forebears?
How can I reconnect with my cultural identity in a meaningful way?

Hilot Binabaylan offers one pathway toward those answers.

Preserving a Sacred Heritage

For generations, Hilot has survived through oral tradition, family practice, and community healing. It is one of the oldest systems of holistic wellness in the Philippines, addressing not only physical health but also emotional, social, cultural, and spiritual well-being.

Yet as modernization continues and younger generations become increasingly disconnected from ancestral traditions, there is a growing need to preserve and transmit this knowledge before it is forgotten.

This outreach mission is therefore more than a certification program. It is an act of cultural stewardship.

Each class conducted abroad becomes a living bridge between past and present. Every participant who learns the principles of Hilot Binabaylan becomes a potential carrier of ancestral knowledge. Through education, mentorship, and direct experience, these traditions continue to live and evolve while remaining rooted in their indigenous foundations.

Healing Through Identity

One of the greatest challenges facing many people today is a sense of disconnection from their roots.

For Filipinos living overseas, healing often involves more than addressing physical symptoms. It may include healing the separation from culture, language, ancestry, and community.

Hilot Binabaylan recognizes that wellness involves the whole person. By reconnecting with ancestral traditions, many individuals discover a renewed sense of identity, belonging, and purpose.

When a Filipino abroad learns the healing wisdom of the ancestors, they are not only acquiring techniques. They are participating in an act of remembrance. They remember who they are, where they come from, and the sacred lineage of knowledge that has been entrusted to them.

Answering the Call of the Ancestors

Throughout my journey as a Hilot practitioner, educator, and Binabaylan minister, I have witnessed how ancestral healing can transform lives. I have seen students discover confidence in their cultural identity. I have seen families reconnect with traditions they thought were lost. I have seen communities find inspiration in the wisdom of their elders.

For me, this mission to America is not merely a professional undertaking. It is a response to a calling.

I believe that the ancestors have entrusted us with a responsibility: to ensure that the Sacred Healing Arts and Sciences of the Philippines continue to benefit future generations.

Every plane ride, every training session, every conversation, and every classroom gathering becomes part of that larger purpose.

As I travel from Hawaii to Long Beach and Oakland, I carry with me not only educational materials and training manuals, but also the prayers, stories, resilience, and healing traditions of our people.

A Global Movement of Ancestral Healing

This outreach mission represents something greater than one individual journey. It reflects a growing global movement of Filipinos seeking to reclaim, preserve, and celebrate Indigenous Filipino wisdom.

The future of Hilot Binabaylan does not depend solely on institutions. It depends on people willing to learn, practice, teach, and embody these traditions in their daily lives.

From the mountains of the Philippines to communities across America and beyond, the call remains the same:

Remember who you are. Honor where you came from. Carry forward the healing wisdom of the ancestors.

As I begin this journey from September to October 2026, I do so with humility, gratitude, and a deep sense of purpose. May this mission strengthen the bonds among Filipinos worldwide and inspire a new generation to embrace the sacred legacy of Hilot Binabaylan.

The healing continues. The lineage endures. The ancestors are calling.

The Hidden Cost of Free: Why Indigenous Intelligence Must Be Valued

We live in a world that willingly spends billions on artificial intelligence, processed food, digital communication platforms, and modern healthcare technologies. Yet many of the same people hesitate to invest in Indigenous intelligence, natural healing traditions, authentic education, and community-based wisdom that have sustained humanity for centuries.

This contradiction reveals a deeper problem in modern society: we have become accustomed to paying for convenience while expecting wisdom to be free.

Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous Intelligence

Today, governments and corporations invest enormous amounts of money in artificial intelligence. They recognize that knowledge has value. Researchers, engineers, programmers, and technology developers are compensated for the years they spend creating systems that can process information and solve problems.

Yet Indigenous intelligence, the accumulated wisdom of countless generations, is often treated as if it should be given away without compensation.

Artificial intelligence is built from data.

Indigenous intelligence is built from lived experience, observation of nature, spiritual understanding, community memory, and generations of practical application.

Artificial intelligence can analyze patterns.

Indigenous intelligence understands relationships.

Artificial intelligence requires electricity and servers.

Indigenous intelligence requires elders, teachers, healers, rituals, and cultural continuity.

Both forms of intelligence are valuable. The difference is that society has learned how to assign monetary value to one while often overlooking the value of the other.

Why People Spend More on Processed Food Than Natural Food

Another paradox exists in the way people spend money on food.

Many consumers willingly purchase highly processed foods, convenience meals, sugary drinks, and imported products. Yet when offered fresh vegetables, organic produce, traditional herbs, or locally grown food, many immediately search for discounts or lower prices.

The hidden cost is that someone else pays the difference.

Usually, that someone is the farmer.

In public wet markets across the Philippines, bargaining or pagtatawad is a common practice. While negotiation is part of market culture, we must ask ourselves an important question:

Who absorbs the loss when prices are pushed lower?

The farmer who planted the crops.

The fisherfolk who caught the fish.

The small vendor who wakes before dawn.

The traditional healer who gathered medicinal plants.

When consumers constantly seek the cheapest option, they unknowingly weaken the very people who sustain local food systems and traditional economies.

The Addiction to Modern Communication

Modern technology has connected the world in unprecedented ways.

We can send messages instantly across oceans. We can attend meetings online. We can watch videos from every corner of the globe.

But something has been lost in the process.

Face-to-face conversation.

Community gatherings.

Apprenticeship.

Direct transmission of wisdom.

Traditional cultures were built through human presence. Knowledge was shared around fires, in family gatherings, through ceremonies, in fields, forests, rivers, and healing spaces.

A video can demonstrate a technique.

A teacher can transform a life.

There is a profound difference between consuming information and receiving wisdom.

The Challenge of Free Education

In the field of traditional healing, this issue becomes even more apparent.

Many people desire authentic Hilot training. They seek genuine Indigenous Filipino healing knowledge and want access to experienced teachers. Yet there is often an expectation that such knowledge should be provided freely.

Consider what happens when an authentic Manghihilot travels from the Philippines to teach students abroad.

The teacher invests years, sometimes decades, mastering the practice.

The teacher pays for travel, preparation, materials, administrative work, and countless unseen expenses.

The teacher leaves family, community, and clients behind to share knowledge internationally.

When people expect this training to be free, who bears the cost?

The teacher.

The institution.

The tradition itself.

Free education may appear compassionate, but when there is no sustainable support system, it slowly drains the resources of those who dedicate their lives to preserving Indigenous knowledge.

Eventually the teacher becomes exhausted.

The school struggles to operate.

The tradition weakens.

And future generations lose access to authentic instruction.

Why Many Traditional Healers Stop Passing On Their Knowledge

One of the most painful realities in the Philippines is that many authentic Manghihilot never pass their knowledge to their own children.

The reason is often simple:

There is little economic security in the practice.

Parents naturally want a better future for their children. If they see that Hilot cannot provide stable income, they encourage their children to pursue other professions.

As a result, priceless healing knowledge disappears with each generation.

Not because the knowledge lacks value.

But because society fails to value it.

This creates a cycle where Indigenous knowledge becomes endangered, not through prohibition or persecution, but through economic neglect.

Professionalizing Hilot Without Losing Its Soul

Fortunately, institutions such as Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, Bahay Hilom, and Hilot School in America are helping transform this reality.

The goal is not to replace tradition.

The goal is to strengthen it.

By documenting techniques, studying outcomes, understanding anatomy and physiology, and integrating contemporary knowledge, Hilot can be understood within modern educational frameworks while remaining rooted in Indigenous Filipino wisdom.

We examine traditional practices and articulate them through competencies, learning outcomes, skills development, professional ethics, and evidence-informed understanding.

This approach allows Hilot to stand confidently alongside other healthcare professions.

Not because Hilot needs validation from modern systems.

But because professional standards create pathways for recognition, sustainability, and respect.

The Problem with “Study Now, Pay Later”

Many educational systems promote a “study now, pay later” model.

While this can increase access, it can also create unintended consequences when applied to Indigenous knowledge systems.

Every lesson requires energy.

Every training session consumes resources.

Every mentor invests time, expertise, and spiritual commitment.

When payment is continually postponed or minimized, the burden falls on the teacher and institution.

Over time, this reduces the perceived value of the education itself.

People often protect what they invest in.

They tend to commit more deeply to knowledge they have worked hard to obtain.

Valuing education financially is not about profit alone. It is about recognizing that both student and teacher participate in a reciprocal exchange.

Investing in the Future of Indigenous Healing

If humanity can invest billions into artificial intelligence, surely we can invest in preserving Indigenous intelligence.

If we can pay premium prices for convenience foods, surely we can support farmers who grow natural and organic food.

If we can upgrade our smartphones every few years, surely we can support teachers who preserve centuries of healing wisdom.

The future of Hilot depends not only on preserving techniques but also on creating sustainable livelihoods for those who carry the tradition.

When we invest in authentic teachers, ethical schools, community healers, and Indigenous institutions, we are not merely purchasing a service.

We are ensuring that future generations will continue to inherit the healing arts and sciences of the Filipino people.

The question is not whether Indigenous knowledge has value.

The real question is whether we, as a society, are willing to recognize that value before it disappears.

Artificial intelligence may shape the future of technology, but Indigenous intelligence preserves the wisdom of humanity. Both deserve investment. Only one, however, carries the memory of our ancestors, the healing of our communities, and the soul of our culture.

A Call to Action: Honor, Support, and Preserve Hilot Binabaylan

The future of Hilot Binabaylan and Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Sciences will not be secured by admiration alone.

It will be secured by action.

If we truly believe that our ancestral wisdom holds value, then we must be willing to invest in its preservation, practice, and transmission. Every generation faces a choice: to allow traditional knowledge to disappear through neglect or to strengthen it through conscious support and commitment.

To students and seekers, I invite you to move beyond the mindset of merely consuming information. Become a custodian of wisdom. Invest in authentic training. Commit yourself to disciplined study. Recognize that the teachings of a Manghihilot, Binabaylan, or Indigenous healer are not products for entertainment but sacred knowledge refined through generations of lived experience.

To practitioners, let us be proud of our profession. Let us continue documenting, researching, teaching, and improving our practice while remaining rooted in the cultural and spiritual foundations that make Hilot uniquely Filipino. Professionalization should not diminish tradition. Rather, it should elevate the dignity of the healer and ensure that future generations can earn a sustainable livelihood while serving their communities.

To educators, institutions, and policymakers, let us create pathways for Indigenous Healing Arts and Sciences to be recognized as legitimate fields of study, worthy of academic inquiry, professional development, and cultural preservation. Indigenous knowledge is not a relic of the past. It is a living body of wisdom that offers solutions for holistic health and community well-being in the modern world.

To Filipinos around the globe, remember that Hilot Binabaylan is more than a healing technique. It is a cultural inheritance. It embodies our ancestors’ understanding of the body, mind, spirit, community, and relationship with nature. Every time we support authentic Hilot education, attend training, purchase local herbal products, sponsor research, or recommend qualified practitioners, we participate in the preservation of an invaluable part of Filipino heritage.

The survival of Hilot depends upon more than memory.

It depends upon practitioners who are fairly compensated.

It depends upon schools that can continue operating.

It depends upon teachers who can dedicate their lives to teaching.

It depends upon students who recognize the value of what they receive.

At Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, Bahay Hilom, and our allied institutions, we believe that Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Sciences deserve the same level of respect afforded to other healthcare and educational disciplines. By combining ancestral wisdom with scientific understanding, professional standards, and academic excellence, we are building a future where Hilot is not merely remembered but practiced, respected, researched, and passed on with integrity.

The next generation of Manghihilot will not emerge by accident.

They will arise because we chose to invest in them.

Let us choose to honor our ancestors by supporting their wisdom.

Let us choose to value Indigenous Intelligence as deeply as we value Artificial Intelligence.

Let us choose to preserve Hilot Binabaylan not as a museum artifact, but as a living, evolving, and thriving healing tradition.

Support authentic Hilot education. Learn from qualified teachers. Invest in Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Sciences. Together, let us ensure that the wisdom of our ancestors continues to heal, inspire, and guide generations yet to come.

“When we value Hilot, we value the healers. When we value the healers, we preserve the wisdom. When we preserve the wisdom, we protect the soul of our people.”

A Statement on the Value and Integrity of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan

Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is a school, a center of learning, and a steward of Indigenous Filipino healing knowledge. We are not in the business of selling certificates, degrees, titles, or social status. What we offer is far more meaningful than a document or a designation.

The qualifications granted through our programs are not merely based on competency assessments or academic requirements. They represent the preservation, continuation, and responsible transmission of ancestral wisdom that has been carefully gathered, studied, practiced, and safeguarded through years of dedication and experience.

Our goal is not to produce individuals who possess impressive titles. Rather, our mission is to help form practitioners who are worthy of carrying this sacred knowledge forward. Those who complete our training are recognized not simply because they attended classes, but because they have demonstrated commitment to the discipline, values, and responsibilities entrusted to them. We seek to develop individuals who can serve as Practitioners, Lineage Bearers, and Lineage Protectors of Filipino traditional healing arts.

We deeply respect the academic degrees, professional credentials, and titles that our students have earned through their own educational and professional journeys. However, we also ask for the same respect in return. Choosing to study at Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is a voluntary decision made by individuals who recognize the value of Indigenous Filipino healing knowledge and wish to learn from it.

For this reason, we must be clear: the wisdom preserved and shared by the Academy is not a commodity to be bargained for as though one were negotiating prices in a public marketplace. Negotiation is not limited to financial matters alone. It can also involve requests that diminish the time, effort, standards, and integrity required to properly transmit this knowledge.

Many people ask whether a person can truly learn Hilot in a few hours, a day, or a weekend. This reminds me of a question once raised by Atty. Kent Almene: “Can a student genuinely acquire meaningful learning in one or two hours of instruction? Or even in one or two days?” Certainly, some knowledge may be gained. A person can be introduced to concepts, techniques, and basic practices. However, true proficiency, mastery, and responsible application require much more. They are cultivated through consistent study, disciplined practice, mentorship, reflection, and time.

No authentic healing tradition can be fully transmitted through shortcuts.

This principle is recognized not only by Hilot Academy but also by government accreditation and regulatory bodies. Institutions such as TESDA and PITAHC establish standards, regulations, and training requirements because meaningful education demands structure, accountability, and adequate learning hours. While Hilot Academy of Binabaylan operates as an independent and autonomous educational institution and ministry of Luntiang Aghama, we likewise uphold our own academic and professional standards.

The programs offered by the Academy have undergone numerous revisions and improvements over the years. Our curriculum continues to evolve to ensure that our students receive comprehensive instruction that meets both traditional expectations and modern educational standards. We do not reduce requirements simply for convenience, nor do we compromise quality in exchange for speed.

The purpose of Hilot Academy has never been driven by money. If financial gain were our primary objective, we would offer quick certifications, lower standards, and promise instant recognition. We choose not to do that because such practices would betray the very traditions we have committed ourselves to preserve.

Just as authentic Hilot is founded upon service, dedication, discipline, and responsibility, authentic learning requires the same qualities from the student.

At Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, what matters most is not how much a person can pay, how many titles they already possess, or how quickly they wish to complete the program. What matters is their willingness to learn, their commitment to the discipline, their respect for the lineage, and their dedication to preserving and serving the healing traditions of our ancestors.

These standards are not negotiable. They exist not to exclude people, but to honor the knowledge we have inherited and to ensure that it is passed on responsibly to future generations.

In the end, we do not confer value through titles alone. We affirm trust, responsibility, competence, cultural stewardship, and commitment. These are the true credentials of a Hilot Binabaylan.

The Anatomy of a Traditional Practice Covenant: Honor, Heritage, and the Law

When you graduate from a conventional university, you walk away with a degree, a cap, and a clear path toward state licensure. But what happens when you graduate from an academy dedicated to ancient, lineage-based healing methods?

In institutions teaching ancestral arts like Hilot Binabaylan, graduation looks a bit different. Graduates often sign a document called a Practice Covenant. While it reads like a deeply formal contract, its purpose, legal status, and boundaries are unique.

Let’s break down exactly what these traditional agreements mean, why violating them is not a crime, and how Philippine law actually protects this rich cultural heritage.

What is a “Practice Covenant”?

A Practice Covenant is a voluntary agreement between a traditional training academy and its graduates. Rather than acting as a standard corporate employment contract, it serves as a moral compass and a spiritual bond.

The primary goal of the agreement is stewardship. It ensures that the practitioner handles ancestral healing knowledge with respect, integrity, and cultural accuracy.

The typical covenant centers around five core pillars:

Ancestral Honor: Committing to preserve the cultural and traditional roots of the practice.
Ethical Practice: Promising to use the knowledge exclusively for healing and never for exploitation or harm.
Spiritual Alignment: Viewing the craft as a holistic calling tied deeply to nature and community.
Community Service: Pledging to support those in need and help others connect with their cultural roots.
Lifelong Mentorship: Maintaining an active link to the academy for continuous education and community gathering.

The Legal Reality: Breaking the Covenant is NOT a Crime

Because these documents use serious legal and formal language, a common point of confusion arises: If a practitioner breaks one of these rules, are they breaking the law?

The short answer is no.

Under the statutory laws of the land, an internal organizational covenant carries absolutely zero criminal liability. Because this is an internal ethical and spiritual code, failing to live up to its standards will never result in:

Police intervention or criminal records
Lawsuits in public, civil courts
Government fines or jail time

How Is It Enforced?

Accountability remains strictly internal and institutional. If a practitioner behaves unethically or violates the spirit of the tradition, the academy relies on community-based remedies:

Spiritual Counsel: Offering peer guidance to correct the practitioner’s course.
Healing Intervention: Peer-led remediation to address behavioral issues.
Withdrawal of Recognition: The academy’s ultimate recourse. They possess the legal right to strip the individual of their institutional titles, official certifications, and endorsement within their professional healing network.

Ultimately, the practitioner remains a free citizen under civil law. They can switch careers or walk away from the practice at any moment without facing legal penalties.

How Philippine Law Protects Traditional Healers: The TAMA Act (RA 8423)

You might wonder how an academy has the right to issue these titles and agreements in the first place. The answer lies in a landmark piece of legislation: Republic Act No. 8423, also known as the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1997.

Authored by Senator Juan Flavier, the TAMA Act completely changed how the Philippine government views indigenous healing systems. It protects and legitimizes practices like Hilot through several key mechanisms:

1. Creation of PITAHC

The law established the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), an attached agency of the Department of Health (DOH). PITAHC is specifically tasked with respecting, promoting, and integrating traditional medicine into the national healthcare delivery system.

2. Ownership of Indigenous Knowledge

The TAMA Act explicitly recognizes that indigenous societies own their traditional medical knowledge. The state provides a legally workable basis to ensure that outsiders cannot exploit ancestral recipes, rituals, or healing systems without permission, recognition, and proper financial sharing with the community.

3. Protection, Not Criminalization

As long as traditional or spiritual healing is performed in a safe, responsible, and non-deceptive manner, RA 8423 ensures it is fully legal. It acknowledges that spiritual and natural remedies are a vital part of primary healthcare, especially in rural areas with limited access to modern hospitals.

(Note: The law only steps in if a practitioner claims they can “cure all diseases,” explicitly misleads people, or stops critically ill patients from seeking emergency hospital care.)

The Takeaway

An organizational practice covenant is a beautiful bridge between ancient tradition and modern administrative structure. It provides traditional academies a way to protect the purity of their lineage while keeping accountability purely within their own community walls. Backed by the TAMA Act, it allows indigenous healing systems to thrive legally, responsibly, and respectfully.

What are your thoughts on traditional covenants versus standard state licensing? Let us know in the comments below!

The Role of Cultural Bearers in Hilot Healing

Social Media like Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube are platforms I use to share my thoughts. Though these are content creation platforms that an individual use to share their creation. These platform always advice to update your tax information to be monetize, provide what viewers want to become viral and trending, and follow certain rules of engagement.

But with all of that I would say, I am not a content creator nor a social media influencer and i may not be also worthy to be a Vlogger or Blogger at all. I am just a mere Manghihilot that has a desire to share what I know in order to preserve our Culture and Tradition.

I do not push everyone to like me nor love me or whatever terms that is appropriate. When i learn to use AI like Microsoft CoPilot, Google Gemini I employ them so that it could help me write perfect post.

Now, I am just relying on my own words not polished by any AI to write this post. So, I apologize if this writing sound bad.

But to continue to what I want to express here is, I want to talk about being a Cultural Bearing on which as someone who actively inherits, practices, safeguards, and transmits the intangible cultural heritage—such as traditional knowledge, arts, languages, beliefs, and customs—of a community to future generations. And that I believe who I am instead of claiming to myself as content creator, social media influencer, digital publisher, online personality, blogger, vlogger, podcaster, etc.

What I bear is the medicine of our Ancestor which is Hilot. And through Hilot it opened up to me to rediscover our very own spirituality. And through my dedication, i was able to retrieve our Sacred Ancestral Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Science which we call as Hilot Binabaylan. Now, this wisdom will not be lost to forgottenness, as long as I live. And teaching it was my means to preserve this knowledge so as in writing articles here and to all the websites that I personally manage. With this, I personally secure domain names and websites at my own cost, which are the landasnglahi.com, hilotacademy.com, anituhan.org, and FilipinoMagick here at BuyMeaCoffee.com. I may sound or look greedy by obtaining these domains. But my intention is to secure our Ancestral Presence visible online in this Virtual, Digital World and Heritage Sphere. Even when I die, this digital personality may remain. Though to be honest I am not sure about that. Aside from these digital platforms, I have written books which is copy righted until 50 years after my death. But most important is, I have taught the lessons and initiated and ordained people to do the work that i am doing.

MY LINEAGE

As a Cultural Bearer, I bear the Culture that been Cultivated in me. And that Cultivation started at Home. The Culture I bear, is the Culture that been Cultivated to me by my Parents, Grandparents, Uncle and Aunts who are my Elders. So, I could say that it is my Maternal and Paternal Grandparents starts the cultivation in me on which I honorably call and mention their names here. To my Maternal Grandparents, Tranquilino Dela Torre Gomez and Loreta Payco vda. De Gomez, and to my Paternal Grandparents Diomedes Paqueo Comon and Valencia Dolar Comon, to my Parents Roland Dolar Comon and Raquel Payco Gomez. They are my bloodline lineage, the people who lovingly raised and guided me from an early age, shaping who I am through their care and the experiences we shared together.

NON-FAMILY LINEAGE

I would also like to honor my non-family mentor, Dr. Rueben M. Galang Jr, Teacher and Curriculum Developer of the School of Alterntive Medicine at St. Francis Divine College. HIs Guidance and dedication played a significant role in shaping our understanding and practice of Alternative Medicine.

After his passing, Sir Arnel Belenzo and I continued the work and vision of our beloved teacher, striving to carry forward the knowledge he shared with us. In time, this journey led me to establish my own institution, the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, dedicated to preserving, promoting, and advancing the healing tradition of our Ancestors.

Many of the individuals shown in this photograph have gone on to establish their own schools and training programs, contributing to the growth of traditional and complementary healing in their respective communities. Some have since crossed over to the realms of the ancestors, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire and guide those who follow in their footsteps.

OUR HILOT BINABAYLAN LINEAGE

Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is the fruit of both ancestral cultivation and academic formation. It is where family heritage, lived experience, traditional wisdom, and scholarly learning converge to create a living lineage of healing, service, and cultural stewardship.

AS CULTURAL BEARER

I hold sacred the teachings entrusted to me by my ancestors and the wisdom generously shared by my teachers. Through years of personal research, community immersion, and service as a TESDA-accredited Trainer and Assessor for Hilot Wellness Massage NC II, I came to understand that the true strength of Hilot lies not in a single system of knowledge, but in the collective wisdom of the people.

As a trainer and assessor, I did not see myself as the sole source of knowledge. Instead, I listened first. I observed the practices, stories, and healing traditions that students brought from their families and communities. Before teaching, I learned from them. Before assessing, I documented the knowledge they had inherited.

While many of these practices fell outside government standards, I recognized them as valuable expressions of our cultural memory and healing heritage. Rather than allowing them to disappear, I preserved them through documentation, reflection, and continued study.

By weaving together, the wisdom of my ancestors, the guidance of my teachers, and the traditional knowledge shared by countless healers across the Philippines, I developed the foundations of what would later become the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan. It is a living lineage where ancestral cultivation, community knowledge, and academic formation converge in the service of healing, cultural preservation, and future generations.

Today, as a Cultural Bearer, I remain committed to preserving the lineage of knowledge entrusted to me through my ancestors, teachers, and the communities from whom I have learned. Along this journey, I have encountered individuals who, after receiving teachings, choose to claim the knowledge solely as their own and distance themselves from the lineage and community that nurtured their growth. Others pursue training primarily for titles or recognition, yet do not continue the practice or embody the responsibilities that come with the tradition.

While these choices sadden me, I respect each person’s path. My sadness comes from seeing individuals disconnect themselves from the very source that helped shape their understanding. To me, a lineage is more than a collection of techniques or information. It is a living relationship built upon gratitude, mentorship, service, and the continuous transmission of wisdom from one generation to the next.

Throughout my study of ancient Asian and Indigenous healing traditions, I have observed a deep respect for teachers, elders, and lineages. Knowledge is not viewed merely as a commodity to be acquired, but as a sacred trust to be cultivated, practiced, and passed on with integrity. The bond between teacher and student often continues long after formal instruction has ended.

In contrast, modern society sometimes promotes the idea that once a person graduates or receives a credential, they no longer need to maintain a relationship with those who guided their learning. While independence and personal growth are important, I believe that true mastery is rooted in humility and lifelong learning.

Hilot, as a Traditional Filipino Medicine and healing art, is a lifelong journey. No one ever truly finishes learning. Even medical doctors, despite completing years of formal education and professional training, continue their studies, engage in continuing education, and often maintain relationships with their mentors, institutions, and professional communities. In the same way, the practice of Hilot calls us to remain students throughout our lives while honoring the lineage, teachers, communities, and ancestors who have made our learning possible.

For me, the preservation of Hilot Binabaylan is not only about safeguarding techniques. It is about preserving relationships, gratitude, memory, and lineage so that future generations may know where the teachings came from and continue to carry them forward with respect and integrity.

The Filipino Chakra System: How Ancient “7-Soul” Anatomy and Pag-uukom Can Heal Modern Mental Health

For decades, the global wellness movement has looked to the East for answers to emotional burnout, trauma, and anxiety. Millions of people routinely discuss clearing their Chakras, moving their Prana, or adopting an Ayurvedic diet.

But while these systems are beautiful and ancient traditions deeply rooted in India, they often feel like an imported, foreign vocabulary to the modern Filipino.

What if the answers to our emotional and psychological struggles didn’t require borrowing foreign concepts? What if our ancestors already mapped out a highly sophisticated, localized subtle energy body—a native “Filipino Chakra System”—designed specifically to diagnose and treat the human mind, body, and spirit?

By looking into the traditional beliefs of indigenous groups like the Mamanwa people and analyzing the core DNA of the Filipino language, we can piece together a powerful, decolonized framework for mental health and holistic healing.

Reclaiming the Subtle Body: The 7 Facets of the Filipino Soul

Unlike Western models that view the mind as a machine or Indian systems that view energy as spinning wheels along the spine, traditional Filipino cosmology views human consciousness as a collective family of seven distinct soul-facets.

Housed within the overarching vessel of our astral twin—the Dungan—these seven facets act as spiritual co-workers. When they are aligned, we experience complete vitality (Ginhawa). When they are fractured, shocked, or displaced, we fall into specific states of mental, emotional, or physical illness.

By mapping the natural vocabulary of Filipino awareness, we reveal our native energy centers and their pathological opposites:

                  [ 7. ISIP ]  ----------> Defect: Tanga / Tulala
                       |
                 [ 6. ALAALA ] ----------> Defect: Kalimot / Ulyanin
                       |
               [ 5. BAIT/KATINUAN ] ----> Defect: Sira / Nawala sa Katinuan
                       |
                  [ 4. ALAM ]  ----------> Defect: Mangmang
                       |
                 [ 3. MALAY ]  ----------> Defect: Baliw
                       |
                 [ 2. MUWANG ] ----------> Defect: Buwang
                       |
                [ 1. ULIRAT ]  ----------> Defect: Inutil

1. Ulirat (The Sensory Soul)

The Energy: Your physical alertness and sensory connection to the immediate present.
The Sickness (Inutil): When Ulirat is severed, the body becomes inert, paralyzed, or vegetative—present in form but completely unresponsive to the environment.

2. Muwang (The Innocent Instinct)

The Energy: Your primordial, instinctual knowing, pure gut intuition, and childlike emotional center.
The Sickness (Buwang): When Muwang is shattered by deep trauma or shock, a person becomes buwang—acting wildly erratic, chaotic, and ungrounded.

3. Malay (The Perceptive Soul)

The Energy: Active, cognitive awareness; knowing who you are, where you are, and awakening to your social identity.
The Sickness (Baliw): If a terrifying experience causes the Malay to flee, a person becomes baliw—completely detached from shared reality and experiencing spiritual disorientation.

4. Alam (The Cognitive Soul)

The Energy: The accumulator of wisdom, skills, memory, and learned capabilities.
The Sickness (Mangmang): A closing of this energy center results in being mangmang—an inability to process lessons, adapt, or absorb knowledge.

5. Bait / Katinuan (The Moral Soul)

The Energy: Your ethical compass, reason, sanity, and capacity for kabutihang-loob (inner goodness).
The Sickness (Sira ang Bait): A total collapse of empathy, conscience, and moral grounding, leading to malicious or unhinged sociopathic behavior.

6. Alaala (The Memorial Soul)

The Energy: Your connection to your past, your personal narrative, and the ancestral line.
The Sickness (Kalimot / Ulyanin): A severed link to time, resulting in severe forgetfulness, amnesia, or dementia—floating through life without a historical anchor.

7. Isip (The Higher Mind)

The Energy: The crowning zenith of intellect, critical strategy, execution, and divine willpower.
The Sickness (Tanga / Tulala): A weak or stagnant Isip leaves a person in a cognitive fog, deeply gullible, easily manipulated, and unable to find direction.

Pag-uukom: The Rational Science of Filipino Diagnostic Judgment

In Western medicine, a practitioner runs blood tests to form a diagnosis. In modern wellness, a healer might scan your aura. In traditional Filipino healing (Hilot and Panambal), the clinical protocol follows a highly logical, step-by-step process of investigation, evaluation, and judgment called Pag-uukom.

Derived from the root word hukom (to judge or pass a verdict), Pag-uukom is the formal spiritual and psychological diagnosis. A traditional healer (Manghihilot or Babaylan) acts as an objective cosmic judge who uses specific investigative tools to determine exactly which of the seven souls has been compromised:

The Investigation (Tawas or Pasubay): The healer uses diagnostic rituals like Pagtatawas (pouring wax or reading elements in water) or Pasubay (the physical and ancestral tracing of pulse points, known as himulso). They trace the timeline of the illness back to its energetic root.
The Analysis: The healer evaluates the findings. Is the body experiencing an elemental imbalance of heat and cold (init/lamig)? Has a boundary been crossed? Which specific soul-facet has wandered away?
The Judgment (Pag-uukom): The healer passes the definitive verdict. They do not just treat symptoms; they declare the spiritual reality (e.g., “The patient is experiencing severe anxiety because their Malay was startled and has lost its way”).
The Treatment Plan: With the judgment finalized, a targeted treatment plan is executed to affect a true cure. Physical blockages are cleared using Hilot massage to reset the ugat (energy lines), elemental balances are restored with local herbal medicine (halamang gamot), and the scattered soul is called back home through Suob (smoke clearing) and Orasyon (spoken charms).

Bringing the Souls Back Home: The Future of Pinoy Mental Health

When we look at mental health through this indigenous lens, the stigma of emotional illness completely dissolves. A person suffering from severe depression or a psychological breakdown is not “broken” or permanently defective; they are simply experiencing a fragmentation of their spiritual companions. They are suffering from a loss of Ginhawa.

The ultimate goal of traditional Filipino healing is never just “coping”—it is Pagsasauli (The Return) or Pagbabalik (The Homecoming). It is the gentle, loving act of calling all seven scattered parts of your consciousness back into your physical vessel until you are entirely buo (whole) once again.

By embracing our own native framework of the seven souls and the rigorous diagnostic wisdom of Pag-uukom, we can provide deeply resonant, culturally safe support for emotional and mental well-being. It is time to look inward, speak our own language of healing, and welcome our wandering souls back home.