Health Care requires trust from the people that will receive it. That is why Hilot has been the most trusted Healthcare modality in the Philippines since before the Colonization Period. Modern Medicine is only a recent introduction to the Filipino People especially to those who are living in the rural areas and in a far-flung community where modern Health Care doesn’t reach. And besides, the introduction of modern medicine was only available for the rich people who can afford it. While Hilot can be easily availed by any one as it does not cost much. Traditionally, Hilot can be obtained from Family Members such as mother, aunties or even grandmother. The Principle of Loving Care is applied in Hilot Treatment that does not require monetary payment. Here are my answers to your questions:

1. What skills and training are necessary for someone to become a trusted manghihilot, and how do you ensure safety in your practice? The Skills of Manghihilot in treatment is based on Traditional Healing Principles.

• DIAGNOSTIC. Manghihilot uses different diagnostic methods to determine if the illness is caused by Physical Mean or Spiritual Mean. That is why there is a Finger Alignment Method (pantay daliri) to determine if the illness is caused Spiritually or Physically. Then if the cause of illness is caused by the Spirit, the Manghihilot employs Tawas which can be likened into a Psycho- Emotional Assessment. Hilot Academy redefined Tawas from being Spiritual Diagnosis to Traditional Alternative Wellness Analytic System.And if the illness is caused Physically, the Diagnostic Method employed is called Pasubay which observed the patient using 5 senses to determine the disorder of the patient. And if the person has internal problems which are caused by the imbalance of the organ, the manghihilot employs himulso or pulse reading analysis. 
• CLEANSING. Whether the illness is caused spiritually or physically, we believe that the person becomes impure that it needs to be cleansed. The water is employed in cleansing whether internally or externally.
• REPAIR. After cleansing, the manghihilot will address the problem by repairing it. There are different treatment techniques to be employed on different illnesses. Even if there are 2 persons suffering from similar illness, the treatment is uniquely different from each individual.
• STRENGTHENING. After treatment, whether be it simple illness to chronic disease, the Body gets weak that is why the manghihilot will provide herbal tea to drink and prescribe food to eat to recover the patient’s strength; and lastly
• MAINTENANCE: The manghihilot will provide to the patient some home care remedies, amulets and charms and even instructions of physical activity that the person may prevent from getting sick from the same ailments.

In terms of Training, the Authentic Manghihilot are not schooled. The Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attitude of Manghihilot are being taught through observation and experience either through apprenticeship from a Hilot Master or out of compassion, just like a mother that her child gets sick will find a way to apply cure to her child. Though as Manghihilot, we do not claim that we can cure, but we believe that all individuals have the ability to heal themselves, and we as manghihilot are only the facilitator that helps the individual to achieve their own healing through the medicine we provide that is by employing the powers of the elements such as herbs, heat, light, water and time. As manghihilot, we are translators more than communicators. We listen to the voice of the Spirit and their body and relay to the individual what they do not understand and after that we seek help from nature to have medicine for the sick.

How do you ensure safety in your practice? This is a personal question on how I personally ensure the safeness of my practice. So, I will respond to this in accordance with our Code of Ethics. In the book i write which is titled as Hilot Gamutan: a Fundamental Guide in Hilot Treatment Methodology, i will quote on page 9, that states:

“As manghihilot, we do not treat patients that have conditions that are beyond our understanding. We refer them to proper healthcare professionals as necessary.
As manghihilot, we are trained to treat Traditional Filipino Ailments known as Pilay, and our works only revolved in treating this illness.
Our limitation as manghihilot is bound only to what we know, so in order to overcome this limitation we should be open for learning and face the modern challenges of life; as time evolves into modernity we will bring hilot all along so that future generations may still benefit from it.”

That is how I observe safety in my practice of Hilot.

2. How do you address criticism that Hilot may cause complications, especially in cases where professional medical intervention is needed?

Just like what it is stated in our Code of Ethics, we limit our practice in Treating Pilay which is our Traditional Illness. But with the advent of modern medicine and colonizing indigenous tribes, the illness of brought by colonizers such as the cry of one dumagat chieftain, when the government enters the forest, new illnesses have been found in their tribe that originally there are only 10 common illnesses that comes to them which they can solve. So, they are asking for help from the Government to send medical doctors in the forest, but unfortunately, there are only few Honorable doctors who will take that challenge to live among the indigenous people and adopt their culture. 

3. What role do you see Hilot playing in a modern healthcare setting? Should it complement or stand apart from mainstream medicine?

Hilot plays a primary role in Health Care as we are the grass root of Modern Medicine. Common People who live in rural areas trusted Hilot more than the modern healthcare professionals. We can bridge that gap by educating the people to trust modern medical practitioners, unlike the modern doctors who discriminate against us in our practice. In the lessons about the Generations of Healers the Modern Doctors are 4th Generation healers as ordained by the Supreme Divine Creator who is the First genration healer, next was the  Babaylan, third, during the coming of the colonizers the healing abilities of Babaylan are distributed to the Manghihilot and  Mananambal, the fourth is the Modern Doctors, the Fifth is the Hilot Binabaylan which we belong and the 6th generation in prophecy are the Integrative Medical Doctors who combined the Modern Science and the Ancestral ways of Filipino Healing. 

As Hilot Binabaylan, I am looking forward for this to happen as of this moment, there are no Modern Medical Doctor who practice Hilot in Health Care, even Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan who advocates hilot does not practice it instead do acupuncture nor Dr. Isidro Sia former Director General of Pitahc also practice Acupuncture and Dr. Anabelle Pabiona De Guzman, another Pitahc Director General who established the Naturopathic School in Far Eastern University Manila. Dr. Mina Gabor who is former Department of Tourism Secretary has established Hilot School at International School of Sustainable Tourism can not be considered as Integrative Doctor as she is not a medical doctor by profession nor a manghihilot. 

4. What steps do you think should be taken to modernise Hilot while preserving its cultural significance

First is, we have Republic Act 8423 that establishes Philippine Institute of Traditional Alternative Health Care or PITAHC. This law has the objective to promote and advocate the use of traditional, alternative, preventive and curative healthcare modalities that have been proven safe, effective, cost effective and consistent with Government standards of medical practice. But as we can see, PITAHC only put aside the promotion of Hilot and relied much on the Department of Tourism. Hilot is not a Hospitality Service but we must be included in Health Care Services. Hilot is not for Entertainment. You ask every living lola and lolo right now on how they remember Hilot, they will tell you that when they get sick, their mother will send them to a manghihilot.As Manghihilot, we do not rely on Pharmaceutical but instead we create our own medicine by harvesting it to our Garden. This is the reason why we do not charge money, because the medicines we formulate are from our own backyard. Manghihilot Cultivates the land where it produces our medicine. By that you can see we are not just a body worker, but we are also an Earth Steward. But as I go back to the steps in modernizing Hilot and preserve its cultural significance, Hilot should be put out in the Spa Industry but instead be employed in Public Health Care Facilities. Trained Hilot in Schools can work as Field Researcher in documenting Herbs, trees, flowers that grow in their Barangay. And from what they gather, they will send it to a more advanced Facility in Pitahc to conduct more intensive research to find the medicinal value of the plants. Then, upon finding its medicinal value, they can cultivate and propagate. Harvest then manufactures finished products such as tea, tablets, syrups, liniments, oils, etc. that can be distributed to the barangay constituents. 

Pitahc should be included in DOH Offices that have Regional, Provincial, Municioal/ City and Baranggay Health Center. Since we are the grass root of health care, Modern Medicine and Traditional Medicine can work together hand-in-hand in caring for the health of the people.

I pray that I answered all of your Questions.

(Please do visit Medical Channel Asia for more Modern Health Care Contents and how it could help to integrate the Traditional Medicine into the modern health care practices in Asia.)