Why Some Practitioners Are Marked “Under Review” or “Not in Good Standing”

By Apu Adman Aghama
Founder, Hilot Academy of Binabaylan

In recent months, several people have asked why some graduates listed on the Our Manghihilot page of the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan website are marked as “Under Review” or “Not in Good Standing.” We welcome these questions because transparency is an important part of maintaining trust, accountability, and the integrity of our healing tradition.

First and foremost, these designations are not intended to shame, attack, or diminish anyone’s personal journey, skills, or experiences. Every student who enters our programs invests time, energy, and commitment in learning. We recognize and honor that effort.

However, it is equally important to understand that completing a training program and remaining an authorized representative of a lineage-based healing school are two different matters.

Beyond Graduation: The Importance of Continuing Standards

In conventional education, a student may complete a degree program in nursing, medicine, physical therapy, or another healthcare profession. Graduation alone does not automatically grant professional authority. Graduates must often pass licensure examinations, meet professional requirements, and adhere to ethical standards established by regulatory bodies.

Within the broader field of Academic Hilot in the Philippines, organizations such as TESDA and PITAHC help establish competency standards, training frameworks, and professional recognition.

At the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, however, our approach to Hilot extends beyond physical wellness. While we value anatomy, physiology, bodywork, and traditional healing techniques, we also recognize the spiritual, cultural, ethical, and ancestral dimensions of Hilot Binabaylan.

Because of this unique responsibility, we established the Hilot Binabaylan Council to provide ongoing assessment and guidance regarding the use, teaching, and representation of Hilot Binabaylan teachings.

Why We Established the Hilot Binabaylan Council

The Hilot Binabaylan Council exists to help preserve the integrity of the teachings entrusted to our academy.

Its role is not merely to evaluate technical competency. The Council also considers whether practitioners remain aligned with the:

Mission of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan
Vision of Bahay SiAdtala Binabaylan Inc.
Core Values of Templong Anituhan Inc.
Ethical principles of Hilot Binabaylan practice
Standards of cultural and spiritual stewardship

A practitioner may possess strong technical skills and yet no longer be aligned with the values, responsibilities, or commitments that accompany authorized representation of the lineage.

For this reason, authorization is not viewed as a one-time achievement. It is an ongoing relationship built upon integrity, ethical conduct, accountability, respect for lineage, and commitment to community standards.

What Does “Under Review” Mean?

When a practitioner is marked “Under Review,” it simply means that the individual’s current status is being assessed by the appropriate bodies of the academy.

This may involve reviewing:

Educational completion requirements
Practice standards
Ethical concerns
Representation of the lineage
Compliance with academy policies
Authorization to teach or certify others

An “Under Review” designation is not a final judgment. It is a period of evaluation intended to ensure fairness, due process, and accountability.

What Does “Not in Good Standing” Mean?

A designation of “Not in Good Standing” indicates that the individual is not currently authorized to represent, teach, certify, or publicly use the authority of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan as an official lineage representative.

This does not necessarily mean the person lacks healing knowledge. It does not invalidate their personal experiences or independent practice.

Rather, it means that they are presently not recognized by the academy as an authorized representative of the Hilot Binabaylan lineage and educational system.

This distinction is important for students, clients, and members of the public who seek authentic instruction and services connected specifically to the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan tradition.

The Challenge of Preserving a Healing Lineage

One of the realities of contemporary wellness practice is the increasing tendency to combine multiple modalities, systems, and techniques into a single treatment approach.

This can certainly be appropriate in many professions and healing traditions. However, for a lineage-based educational institution committed to preserving a specific body of knowledge, it can create challenges.

Our concern is not that people study other healing methods. Learning is a lifelong journey.

Our concern is preserving the distinct identity, philosophy, ceremonial framework, terminology, ethics, and methodology of Hilot Binabaylan.

When teachings become excessively altered, diluted, or mixed without proper context, future generations may lose sight of what makes the tradition unique. Over time, the original teachings can become fragmented or misrepresented.

Preservation requires more than teaching. It requires stewardship.

Why We Publish These Statuses Publicly

The Hilot Academy of Binabaylan website serves as a public information portal.

Its purpose is to help individuals identify:

Practitioners who have completed training
Practitioners currently authorized by the academy
Individuals permitted to teach academy programs
Practitioners who remain aligned with academy standards
Current standing within the Hilot Binabaylan lineage

This transparency benefits the public by allowing prospective students and clients to make informed decisions regarding who is officially authorized to provide services and educational instruction under the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan framework.

The publication of these statuses is not a punishment. It is a public accountability measure designed to protect students, clients, the integrity of the lineage, and the future of the tradition itself.

Honoring the Ancestors Through Responsible Stewardship

At the heart of this matter is a simple belief:

The teachings of Hilot Binabaylan are not merely techniques. They are a living heritage.

We have received these teachings through years of study, practice, cultural preservation, and spiritual responsibility. As caretakers of this tradition, we believe we have an obligation to ensure that future generations receive the teachings with clarity, authenticity, and integrity.

We honor our ancestors by preserving what they entrusted to us.

We honor our students by maintaining standards.

We honor the public by providing transparency.

And we honor the future by ensuring that Hilot Binabaylan remains a living tradition rooted in wisdom, responsibility, and service.

Learn More

To better understand the principles behind these standards and the role of lineage, accountability, and ethical practice within Hilot Binabaylan, we invite you to watch the following presentation by Apu Adman Aghama:

🎥 Watch the Video:

For questions regarding the standing of any practitioner, please contact Hilot Academy of Binabaylan through our official communication channels.

Mabuhay ang Hilot. Mabuhay ang Binabaylan. Mabuhay ang ating mga Ninuno.

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.

From Babaylan to Modern Biomedicine: Reimagining Mental Health through the Filipino Soul

For decades, we have looked at conditions like depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and autism strictly through a Western, clinical lens. We talk about chemical imbalances, neural pathways, and diagnostic manuals. But long before European ships arrived on our shores, our ancestors were already navigating the deep complexities of human behavior, mood shifts, and neurodivergence.

They did not have words like “psychiatry” or “neurodevelopmental,” yet they had a sophisticated, deeply empathetic system for understanding the mind and the spirit.

By looking back at our pre-colonial past, we can bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and modern science, discovering how traditional practices like Hilot Binabaylan can work hand-in-hand with modern medicine today.

1. The Pre-Colonial View: Harmony, Spirit, and Community

In the pre-colonial Philippines, health was not an individual asset; it was a collective state of being. Life was dictated by kapwa (shared identity), kalikasan (nature), and the spirit world. Our ancestors did not view psychological distress or alternative ways of thinking as biological “defects.” Instead, they framed them through spiritual harmony or disharmony.

Here is how the traits of modern mental health conditions were understood and responded to by pre-colonial communities:

Depression and Anxiety (Gupiling or Soul Loss): Intense grief, worry, or trauma were often seen as a state where the kaluluwa (soul) had wandered off or been startled away from the body. It could also mean a person had accidentally offended an engkanto (nature spirit), causing a heavy, anxious cloud to settle over them.
Bipolar Disorder (The Shamanic Calling): Sudden, extreme shifts between deep melancholy and high-energy, ecstatic states were rarely feared. Instead, someone who spoke to unseen beings, sang erratically, or entered deep, trance-like states was often viewed as experiencing sapi (spirit possession) or receiving a calling to become a Babaylan (shaman).
ADHD and Autism (Natural Variations in Character): In a society focused on tribal survival, diverse skills were highly valued. There were no rigid, standardized corporate offices or classrooms. A person with hyper-focus (Autism) might become a master craftsman or weaver. A person with high energy and hyper-awareness (ADHD) might excel as a specialized hunter or gatherer. They were simply integrated into roles that matched their natural traits.

The Ancestral Treatment: Rituals of Reconnection

When someone’s spirit was broken or imbalanced, the village did not isolate them. The Babaylan would step in to conduct rituals. They used herbal baths, chanting, and community feasts to appease the spirits and gently entice the wandering soul back into the body. Healing was a communal event designed to bring the individual back into the fold of the tribe.

2. The Modern Era: Biomedical Intervention and Treatment

As the centuries progressed through Spanish and American colonization, the Western medical framework took root. Today, the global scientific community recognizes these conditions as distinct neurobiological, genetic, or psychosocial dysfunctions. Modern medicine treats them using rigorous, evidence-based interventions:

Pharmaceuticals: Medications like Antidepressants (SSRIs) for depression/anxiety, Mood Stabilizers (like Lithium) for bipolar disorder, and Stimulants for ADHD help regulate neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. They stabilize the biological “thermostat” of the brain.
Evidence-Based Therapies: Practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) help individuals reframe negative thought patterns, while specialized interventions like Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Therapy assist neurodivergent individuals (such as those on the autism spectrum) in navigating sensory processing and communication.

Modern medicine provides the clinical precision and biochemical support necessary to manage severe symptoms, prevent crises, and help individuals function in a fast-paced, modern world.

3. The Bridge: How Hilot Binabaylan Can Help Today

Can an ancient practice coexist with modern psychiatry? Absolutely. Hilot Binabaylan—formally recognized by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC)—is far more than a physical massage [↑]. It is a holistic healing science that targets the intersections of the physical, emotional, and energetic bodies.

When used as a complementary, supportive care system alongside modern medical treatment, Hilot offers profound benefits:

Calming the Nervous System

Chronic anxiety and depression cause the physical body to hoard stress, tightening the muscles, veins (urat), and tendons (pennet). A skilled manghihilot uses physical manipulation and warming herbal oils to release this physical trauma. This process lowers cortisol (stress hormone) levels and grounds an overstimulated mind.

Regulating Moods and Energies

In traditional medicine, bipolar cycles can be viewed as extreme shifts between “hot” (pasingaw) and “cold” (lamig) bodily energies. Hilot focuses on clearing energetic blocks to restore equilibrium. Furthermore, the deep relaxation induced by Hilot improves circulation and promotes better sleep, which is critical for preventing manic or depressive episodes.

Sensory Soothing for Neurodivergence

For individuals with ADHD or Autism, the world can be an overwhelming sensory minefield. The predictable, deep-pressure touch of an authentic Hilot session acts much like a weighted blanket. It helps organize the nervous system, reduces physical restlessness, and provides a safe, quiet environment to unwind without the pressure of verbal communication.

Embracing a Whole-Soul Approach to Healing

We do not have to choose between the science of the future and the wisdom of our ancestors. The safest, most empowering path forward is a beautifully blended approach:

Use Modern Medicine to stabilize brain chemistry, manage acute clinical symptoms, and learn cognitive coping strategies.
Embrace Hilot Binabaylan to release physical trauma from your muscles, soothe your nervous system, and reconnect with your cultural roots and spiritual peace.

By honoring both the laboratory and the ritual, we can build a deeply compassionate framework for mental health—one that heals the brain, respects the body, and feeds the unique Filipino soul.

If you enjoyed exploring this intersection of history and healing, let me know what caught your attention! Would you like to read a deep-dive blog post into specific indigenous herbs used for mental calming, or learn more about how modern Filipino psychologists combine culture and science?

Align and Elevate: How to Update Your Hilot Binabaylan Certification Under the New Curriculum Policy

The landscape of traditional Filipino medicine is evolving. To ensure that our ancient healing arts are preserved with the highest standards of safety, cultural integrity, and professional excellence, the Hilot Binabaylan training curriculum has been officially updated.

If you are a graduate of our classic 9-Day Hilot Binabaylan Training program, you already hold a powerful foundation. However, to fully align your credentials with the newly established professional tracks, you can now apply for a Certificate of Competency by completing the specific modules not covered in the old curriculum.

Updating your training bridges the gap between your foundational residency and the newly structured specialized paths, ensuring your practice is fully compliant, updated, and recognized.

The Path to Alignment: What You Need to Complete

Depending on your professional focus, look at the checklist below to see the exact competencies you need to bridge to secure your updated certification:

1. Certificate in Magtatawas (Hilot Diagnostic Practice)

While your 9-day training covered essential hands-on diagnostic tools (like Paper, Candle, and Egg Tawas), the new 10-day curriculum introduces rigorous theoretical and safety frameworks. To align, you will take:

Indigenous Filipino Anatomy & Physiology: Deep dive into the traditional view of body structures (Balat, Laman, Ugat, Litid, Buto) and organs (Puso, Baga, Atay, Bato), understanding health through our ancestors’ eyes.
Vital Forces Alignment: Mastering how Hininga (breath), Bisa (potency), Init (heat), Lamig (cold), and Hangin (wind) interact during an assessment.
Documentation Standards: Learning to use the official Katutubong Gamutan Profile Form for intake history.
Clinical Red Flags: Training to recognize emergency medical conditions (like fractures or severe bleeding) to ensure appropriate medical referrals.

2. Certificate in Hilot Gamutan or Manggagamot Practice

If your goal is clinical, physical manipulation and therapeutic bodywork, the new track requires advanced, invasive, and thermal modalities. You will need to complete:

Advanced Cleansing Modalities (Phase 1): Practical and safe setup for Paglalabatiba (herbal enemas) and Pagsusuob (herbal steam inhalation).
Lunas Pilay (Traditional Bone Setting): The comprehensive framework for managing sprains, strains, joint misalignments, traction, and mobilization.
Pagbibigkis: Specialized traditional post-treatment binding techniques optimized for bone setting and structural alignment.
Advanced Pharmacology: Deep study of the warming and cooling thermal properties of ethnobotanical compounding.

3. Certificate Program on Albularyo / Mananambal (Herbalist)

The introductory nature walks of the past have been expanded into a profound, nature-synchronized 12-Month Modular Framework. To graduate as a recognized Earth Steward, you will bridge:

Land, Soil, & Propagation Alchemy: Pre-colonial animist philosophy (Kapwa ethics) and lunar-synchronized seed and stem propagation.
Wildcrafting & Spiritual Harvesting: Syncing harvests with solar/planetary cycles and performing Pag-aalay (offerings) and Paalam (permission) rituals.
Dual Pharmacology Compounding: Making medicine for both physical illnesses (Likas na Sakit) and metaphysical ailments (Sakit sa Gawa).
Folk Arts & Talismanic Activation: Understanding the karmic boundaries of Gayuma and the consecration of Anting-anting, Birtud, and Panyo.

4. Certificate Program on Mandadalumat (Spiritual Healer)

For those answering the call to master psycho-spiritual fracturing and energetic protection, you can bridge into the advanced monthly modules:

Metaphysical Syndromes: The energetic mechanics and diagnostics of Usog, Bati, Laro, Tuwa, Dalaw, Tawag, and deconstructing Kulam.
Spatial Architecture: Land trauma clearing and building traditional Altars and Spirit Houses.
Divination Matrices: Mastery of Kilubansa (constitutional typing), Siadtala (ancestral astrology), and the Baybayin Mystic Oracle.
Sound Metaphysics & Consciousness Restoration: Directing Oracion formulas via vocal tuning, alongside Pauli (soul-retrieval) and Dampi (stabilizing sweeps).

Graduation & Assessment Standards

To ensure the integrity of our lineage, the new policy outlines clear assessment benchmarks for all bridging students:

Passing Scores: You must achieve a minimum final score of 75% for Magtatawas, 80% for Manggagamot, and 85% for the Albularyo and Mandadalumat ritual modules.
Non-Negotiable Ethics: A strict 100% compliance rate is required regarding safety, sanitation, and lineage ethics.

Why Update Your Certification?

By updating your training, you aren’t just earning a piece of paper—you are honoring the medicine. You ensure that your practice stands firmly on the foundations of safety, historical accuracy, and profound spiritual depth. Furthermore, it gives your clients and community the peace of mind that your practice meets the highest contemporary standards of the Hilot Binabaylan lineage.

Ready to align your practice? Contact the administration office today to review your 9-day training records and map out your personalized bridging schedule. Let’s elevate the healing arts together!

Our new Curriculum Certification for Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Science Diploma

Level 1 Magtatawas

CERTIFICATE IN MAGTATAWAS OR HILOT DIAGNOSTIC PRACTICE Download

Level 2 Manggagamot

CERTIFICATE IN HILOT GAMUTAN OR MANGGAGAMOT PRACTICE Download

Level 3 Albularyo

Certificate Program on Albularyo Mananambal Indigenous Filipino Herbalist Download

Level 4 Mandadalumat

Certificate Program on Mandadalumat Indigenous Filipino Spiritual Healer Download

Reclaiming the Soul: Understanding Modern Anxiety and Depression as Indigenous Spiritual Illnesses

In our fast-paced, hyper-individualized modern world, mental health struggles have reached unprecedented levels. Modern medicine neatly categorizes chronic anxiety and deep depression as chemical imbalances, neurological firing errors, or clinical disorders. While pharmaceutical and psychological interventions have their place, they often treat only the physical symptoms of a much deeper, unseen crisis.

From the perspective of Filipino Indigenous Spiritual Healing (Hilot Binabaylan), anxiety and depression are not merely failures of brain chemistry. They are spiritual illnesses (sakit sa espiritu)—profound disruptions of a person’s life force (ginhawa), a fracturing of the soul (kaluluwa), or an energetic disconnection from nature and community (kapwa).

When the modern world becomes too heavy, the spiritual vessel breaks. Here, we look at these contemporary ailments through the lens of ancient Filipino mysticism and explore the time-tested, multi-layered ritual sequence used by a Binabaylan to restore complete harmony.

The Diagnostics: Translating Modern Pain into Spiritual Imbalance

To heal an illness, we must first understand its true root. Traditional Filipino medicine goes beyond localized concepts like usog, bati, or kulam, utilizing foundational diagnostic frameworks to trace modern emotional trauma:

1. Lawayan (Soul-Wandering & Depression)

The Diagnostic Connection: In indigenous cosmology, a human being is whole only when the physical body and the kaluluwa (soul/astral double) are perfectly aligned. When a person experiences prolonged grief, severe burnout, or systemic trauma, the environment becomes too hostile. To survive, the kaluluwa fractures or steps away from the physical vessel.
The Symptoms: This manifests as the heavy numbness, chronic fatigue, hopelessness, and inner emptiness characteristic of clinical depression. The person is physically functioning, but their “spark” or spiritual core is missing—the body has become a hollow house.

2. Gulo ng Ginhawa (Disruption of the Vital Force & Anxiety)

The Diagnostic Connection: Ginhawa is our vital breath, life force, and seat of emotional well-being, traditionally centered in the chest and abdomen. Modern society traps us in a perpetual survival mode—constant financial stress, sensory overload, and hyper-vigilance.
The Symptoms: This continuous pressure constricts the breath and creates an energetic blockage, trapping toxic, volatile heat in the chest. This manifests precisely as panic attacks, short breathing, a racing pulse, irrational dread, and physical chest tightness.

3. Pasma sa Kalooban (Emotional Shock & Stagnation)

The Diagnostic Connection: Just as physical pasma occurs when hot muscles are suddenly exposed to freezing water, Pasma sa Kalooban is an energetic shock to the emotional body. It happens when deep trauma, unexpressed anger, or intense shame (hiya) are forcefully suppressed or internalized over time.
The Symptoms: This emotional freezing paralyzes the energetic body. The patient becomes completely unable to process joy, feeling “stuck” in a cyclic loop of past traumas, resulting in generalized anxiety or emotional numbness.

The Path to Cure: The Multi-Step Binabaylan Ritual Sequence

True indigenous healing recognizes that a pill cannot patch a fractured soul. To completely relieve and cure these modern spiritual illnesses, the Binabaylan guides the patient through a rigorous, elemental, and highly structured protocol designed to negotiate with the unseen world and seal the patient’s defenses.

 [1. TAWAS] ──► [2. PAG-AATANG] ──► [3. SUOB & PALINA] ──► [4. SEALING & HOME CARE]
 (Diagnosis &    (Appeasement &     (Thermodynamic          (Anointing Oil &
  Dialogue)       Negotiation)       Cleansing)              Amulet Anchors)

Step 1: Tawas (Spiritual Diagnosis & Higher-Self Dialogue)

The healing journey always begins with Tawas, the spiritual cross-examination. Rather than merely looking at physical symptoms, the Binabaylan utilizes a physical medium (such as candle wax, water, or alum crystal) to read the energetic disruptions.

Crucially, a deep dialogue and negotiation takes place during this stage. The shaman enters a meditative state to communicate directly with the higher self of the patient, as well as their ancestral spirits and spirit guides. The Binabaylan asks: Where did the soul wander? What boundary was crossed? What ancestral trauma is being repeated? Through this divine conversation, the root cause of the anxiety or depression is brought from the shadows into the light.

Step 2: Pag-aatang or Pag-aalay (Appeasement & Sacrifice)

Once the spiritual diagnosis identifies the nature of the energetic debt or boundaries crossed, the Pag-aatang (or Pag-aalay) is executed. If a person’s soul is being held or disturbed by environmental spirits or disgruntled ancestors, a formal peace offering must be made.

The Binabaylan prepares a ritual basket of native foods, root crops, or symbolic offerings to appease the spirits. This act represents a sacred negotiation—a life-for-life or energy-for-energy trade that formally settles the grievance. It ensures that the negative entities willingly release their grip on the patient’s buhay (life force), clearing the path for the spiritual eviction.

Step 3: Elemental Cleansing (Herbal Suob and Palina/Pausok)

With the spiritual negotiations settled, the patient’s physical and subtle bodies must be thoroughly purged of residual spiritual impurities and trapped trauma. This is done through a powerful thermodynamic cycle of elements:

Steam Vapor Herbal Suob (The Extraction): The patient sits over a pot of boiling water infused with highly potent, aromatic medicinal leaves. The rising herbal steam opens the physical and spiritual pores of the patient. As the patient sweats, the heat acts as an extractor, pulling the heavy, toxic, and stagnant pasma sa kalooban and negative energies out of the nervous system. This is immediately followed by a cleansing bath using the cooled herbal infusion to wash the impurities completely away.
Dry Herbal Fumigation via Palina/Pausok (The Shield): Next, the Binabaylan burns dry medicinal leaves, roots, or sacred resins (like kamangyan). The patient is enveloped in this holy smoke. While suob opens and extracts, palina closes and purifies, neutralizing any lingering spiritual parasites and creating a formidable energetic barrier around the aura.

Step 4: Anointing and Home Care Maintenance (Sealing the Vessel)

The extraction and cleansing are complete, but a freshly cleaned vessel is highly sensitive. The Binabaylan must permanently seal the patient’s energy before they return to the modern world.

The healer performs a sacred anointing, rubbing custom-infused healing oils onto the patient’s pulse points, forehead, and crown to lock in the ginhawa (vitality). Finally, to ensure long-term recovery, the patient is sent home with “home care maintenance” amulets—tangible, active proxies of the shaman’s protection. Whether it is a dedicated bottle of Bote Natura (nature in a bottle) oil for daily topical grounding, or handcrafted habak, necklaces, and bracelets strung with protective seeds and woods, these talismans stand as a continuous shield against unseen harm.

A Return to Wholeness

Anxiety and depression are loud alarms telling us that the soul is starving, fragmented, or displaced by the weight of modern living. By stepping away from hyper-isolated perspectives and returning to the holistic wisdom of Hilot Binabaylan, we remember that we are part of a larger tapestry. Through the structured path of Tawas, Atang, Suob, and Palina, we do not just suppress the symptoms of mental illness—we welcome our wandering souls back home.

Bridging Tradition and Science: The Art of Finger Poking Diagnosis (Tudluan) Using Black Coral

In traditional energy medicine, each finger serves as a gateway to the cosmos, representing the five great elements:

Thumb: Spirit (Ether)
Forefinger: Fire
Middle Finger: Air
Ring Finger: Water
Pinky Finger: Earth

When an imbalance or “blockage” (bara) exists within an element, the Black Coral pendant acts as a conductor, reacting physically by becoming heavy, throbbing, or generating intense heat.

While this practice holds deep spiritual roots, modern science and medicine offer an equally profound explanation for why these intense physical sensations occur at the fingertips during a session. Here is how the worlds of folk healing and anatomy collide.

The Conductor: Why Black Coral?

Before diving into human anatomy, we must look at the tool itself. True Banaog (Black Coral) is a highly dense, organic marine material. Because it is incredibly compact and naturally rich in organic oils, it does not absorb water or decay easily. It possesses an excellent thermal and tactile conductivity. This means any minute change in human skin temperature, sweat, or pressure is immediately amplified by the coral, making it the perfect tool for a sensitive practitioner.

The Psychological & Neurological Reflexes

When a practitioner presses the Black Coral against a client’s finger, the physical reactions felt—such as sudden warmth, a “magnetic” heaviness, or a sudden twitch—can be mapped directly to human psychology and neurology.

1. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

The human autonomic nervous system controls our stress, anxiety, and emotional responses through the sympathetic branch. The fingertips contain one of the highest concentrations of eccrine sweat glands and nerve endings in the entire body.

When a client is anxious, in pain, or deeply focused during a diagnosis, their nervous system triggers microscopic amounts of moisture to release from these glands. Even if the skin looks dry, this micro-sweat changes the skin’s electrical conductance. When the dense Black Coral touches this moisture, it alters the friction and thermal trap between the skin and the object. This creates a sudden sensation of heaviness or warmth, indicating emotional or physical stress in the patient.

2. The Ideomotor Phenomenon

Folk healing requires immense mental focus and deep connection between the healer and the patient. This focus can trigger the Ideomotor Phenomenon—a scientifically proven psychological reaction where the brain signals the muscles to make microscopic, involuntary movements (unconscious micro-movements) based on an expectation.

Because an experienced healer subconsciously picks up on the patient’s body language, breathing, and facial tension, the healer’s hand might subtly shift its grip, angle, or pressure on the coral. This micro-adjustment is felt by both the healer and patient as a sudden throb, prick, or pulse from the wood, which traditional arts interpret as the element “speaking.”

The Medical Reality of Energetic “Blockages”

In Hilot, a cold, numb, or painful reaction in a specific finger indicates a blockage (bara). In modern medicine, these exact symptoms in the fingertips are primary indicators of underlying neurological and cardiovascular conditions.

1. Peripheral Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)

Our fingertips are packed with delicate nerve endings. If a patient suffers from underlying issues like high blood sugar (Diabetes), Vitamin B deficiencies, or chronic nerve compression, they may develop Peripheral Neuropathy.

Damaged nerves send erratic, hyper-sensitive electrical signals to the brain. When the hard, dense Black Coral presses against a finger with neuropathy, it can trigger an immediate sharp pain, tingling, or “electric shock” sensation, perfectly aligning with the traditional diagnosis of a severe elemental blockage.

2. Poor Blood Circulation

A “cold” blockage or a lack of energy response in a finger often points to poor blood circulation. Conditions like Raynaud’s Phenomenon or narrowed arteries cause the blood vessels in the fingers to spasm and constrict, drastically reducing blood flow.

When the coral touches these specific fingers, the skin is naturally much colder and less responsive, and it rapidly siphons the warmth away from the healer’s hand. Medicine views this as poor vascular health, while tradition views it as a lack of vital life force (isang nanunuyo o malamig na bara).

3. Somatoform and Stress-Related Disorders

The mind and body are intrinsically linked. When individuals suffer from severe emotional trauma, chronic anxiety, or unexpressed depression, the brain often translates this mental anguish into very real physical symptoms—a condition known as a somatoform disorder.

These patients constantly live in a “fight-or-flight” state, causing rapid heart rates, shallow breathing, and erratic hand temperatures. During a Tudluan session, their highly sensitive nervous system reacts intensely to the touch of the coral, manifesting as a profound energetic imbalance across the elements.

Conclusion: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Understanding the science behind Tudluan does not diminish the magic or historical value of traditional Filipino healing. Instead, it validates it.

Ancient healers did not have access to modern neurological equipment, yet they intuitively understood that the fingertips were the map to a person’s inner health. By using Black Coral as a physical diagnostic amplifier, practitioners were—and still are—successfully detecting real, physical markers of stress, circulatory issues, and nerve sensitivity.

By combining the spiritual comfort of traditional Hilot with the awareness of modern medicine, folk practices can safely continue to provide holistic comfort, stress relief, and early warnings for those seeking balance in a chaotic world.

The Shield of Siyargaw, the Hope of Esperanza: The Living Lineage of Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon

Deep within the vast mangrove channels of Del Carmen, Siargao, sits a coastal enclave named Barangay Esperanza. To the untrained eye, it is a serene village defined by the rhythmic tides of the Philippine Sea. But to those who carry its blood, it is a sanctuary of profound spiritual and civic guardianship. The name Esperanza translates directly to “Hope”—a title born out of a centuries-old prayer for resilience against the storms of nature and history.

Directly in front of the community’s spiritual anchor, the San Vicente Ferrer Chapel, sits an ancestral property belonging to the Comon family. This house was never just a residence; it was the unofficial session hall, the refuge for weary travelers, and the epicenter of community survival. The Comon lineage is inextricably woven into the very fabric of Del Carmen. In the 1960s, it was Mayor Galo C. Comon who legally reshaped the municipality’s modern identity, bridging the town’s ancient roots with its contemporary future.

Yet, the truest power of this lineage did not live in political offices, but in the hands of a man who stood as the spiritual custodian of the village: Diomedes Paqueo Comon, affectionately revered by his people as Lolo Mede.

    ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │                THE COMON ANCESTRAL TRAJECTORY               │
    └──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┘
                                   │
         ┌─────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┐
         ▼                                                   ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐                 ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│        THE CIVIC SHIELD         │                 │      THE SPIRITUAL MEDICINE     │
├─────────────────────────────────┤                 ├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ Mayor Galo Comon & Lay Leaders │                 │ Lolo Mede Comon (*Tambalan*)    │
│ Securing the town’s governance │                 │ Preserving ancient indigenous   │
│ and colonial-era chapel.        │                 │ wisdom, herbalism, and *Hilot*. │
└─────────────────────────────────┘                 └─────────────────────────────────┘
                                   │
                                   ▼
                ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
                │        THE MODERN BINABAYLAN        │
                ├─────────────────────────────────────┤
                │      REV. ROLANDO GOMEZ COMON       │
                │ Keeping the Lineage Alive: Ancestral│
                │ Reclamation & Indigenous Medicine. │
                └─────────────────────────────────────┘

The Legacy of Lolo Mede: The Binisaya Healer

In traditional Visayan (Binisaya) culture, the line between the physical world and the spiritual realm is completely fluid. Lolo Mede was a famous mananambal (native healer)—the historical evolution of the pre-colonial Babaylan.
While Spanish colonizers sought to erase indigenous shamanism, the master healers of Siargao adapted to survive. Lolo Mede harmonized his ancient gifts with the modern church, serving as a trusted chapel lay leader. He understood that the earth was a divine pharmacy. Utilizing the immense biodiversity of the Del Carmen mangrove forests—the very siyargaw trees that gave the island its name and served as a natural barrier against deadly typhoons—he harvested barks, resins, and roots to cure the ailing.
Through the physical manipulation of Hilot (traditional bone-setting and massage), vapor therapies (tuob), and the whispering of sacred orasyon (chanted prayers), Lolo Mede did not just treat bodies; he restored the ginhawa (the breath and vital life force) of his people.

The Phenomena of Taliwala: An Unbroken Spiritual Inheritance

For decades after his passing, the healing fires of the family seemed quiet. But indigenous gifts are rarely lost; they merely sleep, waiting for the right vessel. In Binisaya spiritual tradition, there is a phenomenon known as Taliwala or Abat—the ancestral rebirth of a gift. It is the belief that a profound spiritual inheritance (gasa) will deliberately bypass children to reawaken vibrantly in a specific grandchild.

Today, that reawakening has found its vessel in his grandson, Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon.
When distant relatives look upon Rev. Rolando, they often experience a startling sense of recognition. They mistake the grandson for Lolo Mede himself, sensing an ancient, familiar healing frequency vibrating through his presence. This is not an optical illusion or a simple mistake; it is the community’s instinctual recognition of an unbroken spiritual lineage. The ginhawa (life force) of the grandfather has stepped across time into the hands of the grandson.

The Vital Imperative: Keeping the Comon Lineage Alive

To walk the contemporary path as a Hilot Binabaylan while holding the title of Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon is to carry an immense, sacred responsibility. In an era where Siargao Islands are globally romanticized as a modern tourist playground, the authentic spiritual and cultural identity of its native people faces the quiet threat of erasure. For Rev. Rolando, continuing this lineage is not a choice—it is a vital imperative to honor the Comon ancestors of Barangay Esperanza.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│             WHY THE LIVING COMON LINEAGE MUST BE PRESERVED             │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • CULTURAL ANCHOR: Shields Siargao’s native identity from tourism.     │
│ • MEDICINAL RECLAMATION: Keeps the *Binisaya* healing sciences alive.   │
│ • DECOLONIAL BRIDGE: Unites ancient *Diwata* roots with modern faith. │
│ • LIVING SANCTUARY: Sustains Esperanza’s historical role of protection.│
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Resisting Cultural Displacement
As commercial developments reshape the coastlines of Siargao, the deep, foundational history of towns like Del Carmen risks becoming a footnote. By openly practicing as a Hilot Binabaylan, Rev. Rolando ensures that the Comon family remains what they have always been: guardians of the land. It broadcasts a powerful reminder that before the island was a destination for surfers, it was—and still is—a sacred territory of mystics, prayer warriors, and traditional healers.

2. Safeguarding Indigenous Medicine as a Living Science
Lolo Mede’s medicine was a sophisticated, intuitive science built on centuries of observing the island’s ecosystems. When traditional healing lines break, the deep knowledge of native flora, the spiritual mechanics of Hilot, and the protective energetic boundaries of the mangroves die with them. By keeping this practice alive, Rev. Rolando acts as a living archive, ensuring that the indigenous Binisaya wellness systems remain dynamic, active, and accessible to those who need healing.

3. A Legacy of Decolonial Reclamation
While Lolo Mede had to shield his indigenous mysticism within the protective, acceptable boundaries of a Catholic chapel to survive his era, Rev. Rolando steps into the lineage during an age of awakening. His work is an act of spiritual decolonization. He bridges the sacred mechanics of traditional Hilot and the ancient worldview of the Diwata (nature spirits) with modern spiritual leadership. He vindicates the ancestors by bringing their hidden practices completely into the light, showing that native spirituality is not something to be feared, but a holy gift to be revered.

The Fire Endures in Esperanza

The story of the Comon lineage is a testament to the absolute resilience of Siargao’s true indigenous spirit. The ancestral home still stands proud directly across from the chapel in Barangay Esperanza, serving as a physical monument to a family that chose to stay, protect, govern, and heal.
The ancestors are not gone; they live on in the marrow of their descendants. Through the hands, prayers, and calling of Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon, the sacred fire of Lolo Mede burns as brightly as ever. The lineage remains fiercely alive—honoring those who walked before, protecting the sanctity of Esperanza, and continuing to offer a true sanctuary of hope to a world longing to remember its roots.

📜 Official Announcement: Transition of Academic Titles and the Professionalization of Hilot Binabaylan Practice

In partnership with Templong Anituhan Inc. and Bahay SiAdtala Binabaylan Inc.

The Hilot Academy of Binabaylan formally announces an important transition in its academic titles and credentialing system, undertaken to support the long‑term professionalization, integrity, and global recognition of Hilot Binabaylan Practice as an Indigenous Filipino Healing Art and Science.

Background

On August 8, 2025, Templong Anituhan Inc. and Bahay SiAdtala Binabaylan Inc. issued a joint resolution declaring that all graduates of the Nine (9)‑Day Hilot Binabaylan Training—from 2016 through June 18, 2025—were to be recognized as Masters of Ministry in Hilot Binabaylan Practice (M.Min.HBp). This declaration acknowledged the historical role of the 9‑day training as the foundational and terminal formation program during the early development of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan.

Final Conferral of the Master’s Degree under the 9‑Day Training

In line with the institutional resolution and its transitional provisions:

The Nine (9)‑Day Hilot Binabaylan Training Cohort held in Hawaii from April 11–19, 2026 is officially recognized as the final group to receive the Master of Ministry in Hilot Binabaylan Practice (M.Min.HBp) under the legacy training system.
Graduates of the Hilot Binabaylan Alignment Training in the Philippines, whose graduation ceremony was held on June 24, 2025, are likewise recognized within the transitional framework established prior to the implementation of the new academic structure.

All degrees and titles previously conferred remain valid, honored, and irrevocable.

New Credential Moving Forward

Beginning after April 2026, all individuals who complete the Nine (9)‑Day Hilot Binabaylan Training shall receive the professional credential:

Certified Hilot Binabaylan Practitioner (CHBP)

This title reflects professional competency and ethical authorization to practice Hilot Binabaylan, while distinguishing the 9‑day program from graduate‑level academic degrees.

Toward Full Academic Professionalization

This transition gives way to the formal academicization of Hilot Binabaylan through a structured degree pathway:

Bachelor’s Degree (4 years)
Bachelor of Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Sciences
Master’s Degree in Ministry (2 years)
Master of Ministry in Hilot Binabaylan Practice
Doctoral Degree in Ministry (3 years)
Doctor of Ministry in Indigenous Filipino Healing Arts and Spirituality

This degree ladder ensures depth, rigor, accountability, and sustainability, while honoring both tradition and contemporary standards of ministerial and professional education.

A Word of Gratitude

We extend our deepest respect and gratitude to all graduates who carried the title Master of Ministry in Hilot Binabaylan Practice during its formative years. Your dedication, service, and leadership laid the foundation upon which this next chapter is being built.

For official guidelines, program updates, and future enrollment announcements, please continue to visit the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan website.

In service of healing, culture, and embodied wisdom.

—
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan
Templong Anituhan Inc.
Bahay SiAdtala Binabaylan Inc.

The Healing Power of Shared Meals: Food as Nourishment of Body, Heart, and Spirit

In modern society, food is often evaluated through numbers and labels—calories, nutrients, price, or presentation. We ask: Is it healthy? Is it delicious? Is it affordable? While these questions are important, they do not fully capture the deeper meaning of food.

From an indigenous and holistic perspective, the true richness of food is revealed not only in what we eat, but in how and with whom we eat.

The delight of food is not measured by taste, nutrition, or price.
Its true richness is measured by how it is shared—especially when it is shared with someone you love.

Food as Relationship, Not Just Consumption

In traditional Filipino culture, pagkain is never merely an individual act. It is relational. Meals are invitations to connect—with family, community, ancestors, and the unseen. A simple dish, when shared, becomes abundant. A modest table, when surrounded by loved ones, becomes sacred.

This reflects an ancient wisdom: healing does not happen in isolation. Just as Hilot views the body as interconnected—physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and cultural—food too nourishes more than the body. It nourishes belonging.

Shared Meals as a Form of Healing

In Hilot Binabaylan practice, imbalance often arises not only from physical causes but from emotional and relational disconnection. Loneliness, grief, and separation weaken the spirit. In contrast, shared meals restore harmony.

When food is shared:
– The body receives nourishment
– The heart feels seen and included
– The spirit experiences warmth and grounding

This is why meals prepared with care and shared in love often feel more satisfying than expensive or elaborate food eaten alone.

Love as an Invisible Ingredient

There is an ingredient that cannot be measured or listed on any label: pagmamahal.

Food prepared or shared with love carries a different quality. It slows us down. It opens conversation. It invites presence. In many indigenous traditions, intention is as important as the material itself. What we feel and offer while eating becomes part of what we ingest.

In this way, every shared meal becomes a quiet ritual—a moment of embodiment, where care is made tangible.

Embodiment in Everyday Life

At Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, we speak of embodiment—not only as a concept, but as a lived practice. Embodiment happens when wisdom is expressed through daily acts: how we touch, how we listen, how we eat, and how we gather.

Sharing food is one of the simplest yet most profound ways to embody healing values:
– Presence over haste
– Relationship over consumption
– Gratitude over excess

A Gentle Reminder

In a world that often eats quickly and alone, let us remember:
Food heals best when it is shared.
Nourishment deepens when love is present.
And the table, no matter how simple, becomes a place of restoration when hearts meet.

This is the kind of wellness we uphold at Hilot Academy of Binabaylan—a healing that honors the body, strengthens relationships, and nourishes the spirit.

Hilot Then and Now: Autonomy, Community, and a Modern Framework for Continuity

By Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon (Apu Adman), Developer and Reviver of Hilot Binabaylan, Founder of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan

Overview

This article clarifies three intertwined questions:

Was hilot a “business” in pre‑colonial times?
How do “necessity” and “commodity” differ—and where does hilot belong?
Did manghihilot have formal groups and leaders in ancient times—and how does that history inform modern debates over legitimacy and leadership?

It closes with a Position Paper presenting the historical‑theological justification for the leadership of the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan, and a peaceful indigenous response to critiques of legitimacy—grounded in culture, service, and spiritual calling.

I. Was Hilot a “Business” in Pre‑Colonial Times?

Short answer: No—not in the modern market sense. In pre‑colonial Philippine communities, hilot was a community health service embedded in spiritual practice, herbal knowledge, and manual healing, provided by manghihilot, albularyo, and babaylan. Compensation typically came through reciprocity—food, portions of harvest, help, or other gifts—rather than profit margins or standardized prices. The work was spirit‑led and community‑validated, not market‑driven.
Sources: Overviews consistently describe hilot as a holistic, culturally embedded practice rather than mere massage or commerce, emphasizing its role in childbirth, midwifery, herbalism, and spiritual healing. [beholdphil…ppines.com], [en.wikipedia.org], [nipino.com]

II. Necessity vs. Commodity—And Where Hilot Belongs

A. Definitions

Necessity: Goods or services essential to life and well‑being; demand is relatively inelastic because people need them regardless of price (e.g., food, water, shelter, basic healthcare). [difference.wiki], [fiveable.me]
Commodity: A good or service produced for trade, often fungible (interchangeable) and subject to market pricing and speculation (e.g., grains, metals, oil). [en.wikipedia.org], [merriam-webster.com]

B. Where Hilot Belongs

Pre‑colonial hilot functioned as a necessity: it was the primary healthcare for many communities—covering musculoskeletal care, prenatal and childbirth support, herbal medicine, and spiritual balance. Its demand derived from communal need and spiritual obligation, not price sensitivity or brand competition. [beholdphil…ppines.com], [nipino.com]

Modern hilot can be commodified (e.g., spa menus, wellness tourism, branded trainings) when offered through market channels with fees, packages, and certifications. That shift—from necessity to commodity—is a feature of contemporary market systems, not ancient practice. [insights.m…ourism.com]

III. Did Ancient Manghihilot Have Groups and Leadership?

A. Autonomy and Place‑Based Calling

Pre‑colonial healers (manghihilot, babaylan/katalonan, mumbaki, walian, etc.) were typically autonomous, place‑based, and lineage/apprenticeship‑trained. Their recognition flowed from efficacy, ritual authority, and the community’s trust, rather than from a centralized guild or national hierarchy. [en.wikipedia.org], [centerforb…tudies.org]

B. Functional Differentiation, Not Bureaucratic Hierarchy

Communities often distinguished roles—e.g., bone setting and soft‑tissue manipulation (manghihilot), herbal pharmacopeia (albularyo), and ritual leadership (babaylan). This was functional diversity, not a top‑down chain of command. [en.wikipedia.org]

C. Spirit‑Led Leadership

Authority was relational, situational, and spirit‑led. Healers “bowed” to Divine/Diwata/Anito and served communal welfare. Their “leadership” was service‑based: respected because their practice worked, their counsel guided, and their rituals healed. [en.wikipedia.org]

Conclusion: Your understanding is correct. Ancient healers were independent and community‑anchored; modern inter‑group competition is largely a post‑colonial/market phenomenon.

IV. Why Do Modern Legitimacy Conflicts Arise?

Marketization & Branding: As hilot enters market frameworks (pricing, certifications, brand identities), groups understandably advocate for their models and standards—sometimes sliding into competitive claims. [insights.m…ourism.com]
Colonial & Post‑Colonial Disruptions: Historic suppression of indigenous spiritual healing fractured lineages, creating a vacuum later filled by new institutions seeking validation—occasionally through gatekeeping or delegitimization. Scholarly descriptions of babaylan roles and suppression across the archipelago contextualize this dynamic. [en.wikipedia.org]

V. The Role of Hilot Academy of Binabaylan (HAB)

The Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is not a “supreme authority.” It is a modern container—a learning community that preserves, organizes, and passes on indigenous healing knowledge responsibly. HAB provides structure for continuity amidst contemporary realities (urbanization, fragmented lineages, global students), while honoring spirit‑led autonomy and community service as the core of hilot. [beholdphil…ppines.com], [nipino.com]

VI. Position Paper

Historical‑Theological Justification of Leadership in the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan

A. Premises

Historical Continuity: Pre‑colonial hilot thrived as a necessity embedded in communal life, stewarded by healers recognized through efficacy and service, not bureaucratic titles. [beholdphil…ppines.com], [en.wikipedia.org]
Disruption and Need for a Modern Framework: Colonial/post‑colonial disruptions fragmented lineages and ritual ecologies, necessitating contemporary educational structures to safeguard and transmit knowledge. [en.wikipedia.org]
Theological Grounding: In indigenous perspectives, calling (tawag) originates from the Divine/Diwata/Anito. Leadership is diakonia (service), not dominion: a covenant with community well‑being and spiritual balance. [en.wikipedia.org]

B. Claim

HAB leadership is an instrumental guardianship—a service mandate to preserve and cultivate Hilot Binabaylan as living tradition within modern contexts. It organizes curricula, mentorships, and ethics not to supplant community healers but to support, strengthen, and transmit the practice responsibly.

C. Justification

Historical Justification: Establishing an academy aligns with historical patterns of apprenticeship and communal validation, translated into a modern educational container because the original village matrices are often unavailable. [beholdphil…ppines.com]
Theological Justification: Leadership is vocational—rooted in a call to serve. As with babaylan, authority is measured by healing efficacy, ethical conduct, and faithfulness to the spirits and community, not by claims of supremacy. HAB’s leadership adopts this servant‑covenant model. [en.wikipedia.org]
Cultural Justification: HAB functions as cultural stewardship against commodification without context—ensuring that when hilot enters modern venues (spas, tourism, global education), it carries its cosmology, ethics, and community orientation intact. [insights.m…ourism.com]

D. Principles of HAB Leadership

Service over Supremacy: Leadership exists to equip, not to dominate.
Spirit‑Led Autonomy: Honor practitioners’ place‑based callings and local lineages. [en.wikipedia.org]
Community‑First Ethics: Measure success in community welfare and healing outcomes, not in market share. [beholdphil…ppines.com]
Scholarly Integrity: Teach hilot’s history, techniques, and cosmology with rigor and respect. [en.wikipedia.org]
Reciprocity and Respect: Maintain mutual recognition across diverse hilot traditions and regions. [centerforb…tudies.org]

VII. Peaceful Indigenous Response to Critiques of Legitimacy

When confronted with questions about legitimacy or leadership, HAB offers this peaceful, culturally rooted response:

Affirm the Shared Ground “We honor all who respond to the call of healing. Our ancestors recognized many paths—manghihilot, albularyo, babaylan—each serving the people.”
Rationale: Pre‑colonial healing was plural, autonomous, and community‑validated. [en.wikipedia.org]
Clarify HAB’s Role “We are an academy—an educational home—built to preserve, teach, and responsibly transmit Hilot Binabaylan amidst modern realities. We do not claim supremacy; we offer structure for continuity.”
Rationale: HAB is a container, not an empire. [beholdphil…ppines.com]
Invite Reciprocity “Let us collaborate on standards that protect communities and learners—grounded in cosmology, efficacy, ethics, and service—so hilot remains a necessity, not merely a commodity.”
Rationale: Collaboration resists commodification without context and prioritizes community health. [insights.m…ourism.com]
Return to Calling and Outcomes “Authority in hilot arises from calling, conduct, and healing outcomes. Where practice heals and uplifts, legitimacy follows.”
Rationale: Spirit‑led, outcome‑based validation mirrors ancestral norms. [en.wikipedia.org]
Keep the Conversation Sacred > “We offer dialogue with respect, mindful that hilot is a sacred trust. May our words and works serve the people and honor the spirits.”
> Rationale: Ritual respect maintains cultural integrity. [centerforb…tudies.org]

VIII. Practical Implications for Modern Practitioners and Groups

For Practitioners: Cultivate efficacy, ethics, community relationships, and ongoing learning. Let your legitimacy arise from service and outcomes. [beholdphil…ppines.com]
For Schools/Groups: Build curricula that embed cosmology, herbal knowledge, manual techniques, ritual respect, and community‑first ethics—not just marketable skills. [en.wikipedia.org]
For the Public/Students: Seek training that honors hilot’s identity as necessity (health service) rather than commodity (brand alone). Verify community impact and cultural grounding. [difference.wiki], [en.wikipedia.org]

IX. Summary Table (Conceptual)

Dimension	Pre‑Colonial Hilot	Modern Hilot (Market Context)
Economic Nature	Necessity (community health)	Commodity (when branded/sold)
Validation	Community & Spirits (efficacy, ethics)	Market & Certification (branding, fees)
Leadership	Autonomous, spirit‑led	Institutional roles (school, org leaders)
Core Aim	Healing & Balance	Healing + structure for continuity
Risk	None (market)	Commodification without cultural context

Sources across sections: [beholdphil…ppines.com], [en.wikipedia.org], [nipino.com], [insights.m…ourism.com], [en.wikipedia.org], [centerforb…tudies.org], [difference.wiki], [en.wikipedia.org], [fiveable.me]

X. Closing

Hilot Binabaylan is not a brand to win a market contest; it is a living covenant between healer, community, and the spirits. The Hilot Academy of Binabaylan stands as a modern sanctuary—preserving, teaching, and transmitting a tradition whose legitimacy rests upon calling, conduct, and healing. In dialogue and collaboration, may we ensure that hilot remains what it has always been at heart: a necessity of communal life, not merely a commodity on the shelf.

References

Behold Philippines, Hilot: The Ancient Filipino Art of Healing (Aug 14, 2024) – overview of hilot as holistic tradition and community healthcare. [beholdphil…ppines.com]
Wikipedia, Hilot – origins, practices, and relation to shamanic traditions. [en.wikipedia.org]
Wikipedia, Filipino shamans (babaylan) – roles, spiritual mediation, and community significance. [en.wikipedia.org]
Center for Babaylan Studies, What is Babaylan? – descriptions of indigenous spiritual leadership and healing roles. [centerforb…tudies.org]
Medical Tourism Magazine, The Ancient Practice of Hilot: Traditional Healing in the Modern World – modern integration and wellness contexts. [insights.m…ourism.com]
Nipino.com, Hilot: Nurturing Body, Mind, and Spirit in Traditional Filipino Healing – historical roots and holistic principles. [nipino.com]
Merriam‑Webster, Commodity – definitions and market framing. [merriam-webster.com]
Wikipedia, Commodity – economic features and fungibility. [en.wikipedia.org]
Fiveable, Necessities – Principles of Economics Key Term – demand inelasticity and essential goods. [fiveable.me]