It’s high noon in Plaza Miranda, at the heart of the Quiapo district in Manila.
It was a Friday and the heat index screamed 43 degrees, the highest recorded for this year. It seems that summer has come early to Quiapo. And yet the day trudges on; the hustle and bustle of vendors around the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, colloquially called the Quiapo Church, remains unaffected by the sweltering heat and the stench of urine hanging heavily over the capital’s infamous flea market.
Fortune tellers, peddlers and candle vendors roast side-by-side, vying for every inch of shade under multi-colored umbrellas and tarps, selling everything from amulets to abortifacients to its never-ending clientele: countless Filipinos who need protection from witchcraft, cures for mysterious illnesses, or various potions to aid them in their day-to-day.
It matters not that these wares seem pagan to conservative Catholics, because for the residents of Quiapo, God is found within them; within bottles of sacred oil from far-flung tribes or within blessed bronze anting-anting or amulets littered with Latin inscriptions
But amidst the reinstatement of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, now renamed Oplan Tokhang Double Barrel Reloaded, the merchants of Quiapo have started diversifying their inventory - offering more potent protection from the government program that has claimed over 4,084 lives in less than a year, according to a report by VERA Files.
One only needs to ask, preferably in hushed tones, and one shall find them there.
Agimat and anting-anting Kontra-Tokhang
At the outer ring of the flea market, alongside Quezon Boulevard and perhaps strategically away from the rest of the vendors, is Nanay M* and her cart of goods - offering tawas, tiny bottles of holy water, oil, and even gayuma or love potions. She has been selling for more than 30 years, her entire life taking place within Quiapo.
If asked whether she sells anti-Tokhang anting-anting, she’ll wave you off and shake her head. You ask again. This time, she pulls you closer and whispers: “Wag kang maingay. Saglit lang, bubuksan ko lang ito (Quiet down. Give me a moment, I’ll open this up for you).
She takes out a small copper key and pulls out an equally small drawer amidst the clutter which is her stall. Turning the key sideways, you hear a soft click as it opens, producing several bronze yellow amulets.
“Ito (This),” pointing to one of the bronze medallions, “yung hinahanap mo (is what you’re looking for).”
She calls them medalyon (medallion), intended to shield you from people who wish you harm, sold to her by anitos who pass by Quiapo - most recently by Manobos who needed a bit of cash.
She didn’t used to offer these, she said, but people have continuously pestered her for them, and so she complied.
“Dito sa plaza, hindi naman gaano. Yung mga taga-labas, yung mga squatters po dun sa may bandang loob sa may tulay, sila yung problemado (Here in the plaza, people don’t usually need them. But for outsiders, those informal settlers living underneath the Jones Bridge, they’re often the ones who buy),” she said.
Nanay M sells her product discreetly, away from the prying eyes of the police patrolling the plaza who consider them illegal.
“Kasi nga ayaw nila. Baka mahuli ka. Makasuhan ka pa (Because they don’t like it. You might get caught, get arrested),” she said.
Thus, the trade of these anti-Tokhang amulets thrive only by word of mouth, or the careful combing through of the dozens of stalls in the area. Their existence, an open secret that the entire community keeps.
Some store owners would be offended if you ask them if they sell these amulets. And while others confirm openly admit to selling anting-anting panangga ng bala at talim (amulets to ward off bullets and knives), they are not marketed as anti-Tokhang as reported by mainstream media.
One of them is Dante Batang.
Dante has been selling amulets and medallions on Evangelista Street right beside Quiapo Church for four years now; his family, longer still. His supplies of bronze and animal bone amulets come from his home province of Lipa, Batangas, and he swears by their effectiveness.
His wares do not include anti-Tokhang amulets, but his bestseller is the amulet of San Miguel which allegedly protects the carrier from all obstacles and dangers including bullets.
“Kasi wala namang ganon eh. Ang binebenta ko mga ganito lang: mga proteksyon at iwas aksidente, disgrasya (Those do not exist. What I sell are these: protection against accidents and misfortunes)”, Dante said.
Besides, he believes that it is not amulets which drug users buy from the streets.
“Hindi agimat ang binibili ng mga nabiktima ng Tokhang kundi shabu (It is not amulets that Tokhang victims buy, but shabu).”
A stall off anting-anting and agimat near Plaza Miranda in Quiapo. There are dozens of similar stalls selling almost the same selection of amulets. Some even sell potions. | Photo: Allan Yves Briones
A selection of bronze amulets or anting-anting sold around Quiapo. These are commonly used by believers to ward off bad luck or bring good luck in. Some are used for protection during travel or against bullets and knives. | Photo by: Allan Yves Briones
To each his or her own
However, some really do stand by them. One of them is Antonette de Roca, a long-time resident and devotee of the parish.
“Yung anting-anting kasi, may patunay na, yung asawa kong muslim, na meron talaga yan. Inilalayo siya sa aksidente. Iniiwas talaga siya (Those amulets, there’s proof, from my muslim husband, that they really do work. They keep him away from harm),” she said.
She buys them often, whenever she’s able, as a protection against the terrifying things she sees on the news - especially those related to Tokhang, since she believes that corrupt cops are the most dangerous of them all.
“Higit pa na problema ang mga pulis mismo. Pinapatupad nila yung Oplan Tokhang, pero mismong sila hindi nila madisiplina yung sarili nila. Hindi ka na magtataka kung bakit ang daming bumibili ng mga agimat. Ano pa bang magpo-protekta sayo kung yung mismong may hawak ng batas, kalaban mo.”
(The bigger problem is with the police themselves. They uphold the Oplan Tokhang, but they can’t even discipline themselves. It’s not surprising that so many are buying amulets. What else can protect you when those who should uphold the law, violate it?)
‘It’s all in their heads’
PO3 Rodolfo Pascual Arellano, 55, has manned his post located at the right wing of the Quiapo Church since his greenest days as a policeman.
Wearing his yellow brown Ray Ban knockoffs, he stands guard against erring motorists who obstruct the church’s side street on the banks of the Quezon Boulevard, where the outpour of devotees from the parish always threaten to clog up traffic.
He patrols the cramped streets of Evangelista, Hidalgo and Paterno as ‘Tata Pong’ or ‘Ta Pong’ to Quiapo regulars, and is greeted wherever he goes; himself having become a fixture in the area.
Tata Pong eyes pedestrians and motorists who might obstruct the environment beside the Quiapo Church.| Photo by: Allan Yves Briones
He, however, is not popular among beggars. For him, what they do is simply trickery of the mind. He says the same of Quiapo’s anting-anting trade, both discreet and indiscreet.
“Yung mga nagsasabi na binabawalan namin sila magbenta ng anting-anting, sa isip lang nila yun (Those who say that we forbid them from selling amulets, it’s really all in their heads),” he said, his forefinger pointed to the side of his forehead.
“Kung ikaw inalok ka ng anting-anting, makakagaan sayo. Ngayon niloloko ka pala ng nagbenta sayo; sa isip niya niloloko ka niya, sa isip mo may anting-anting ka. Sa isip lang (You were offered an amulet, and you buy because it makes you feel safer. They might be scamming you of your money, but in your head, you have something that protects you. In the end, it’s really all in your heads).”
Anti-shabu massages
Although most anti-Tokhang products are sold in secret, some services are openly advertised. Back at Evangelista Street, not far from Dante’s amulet stall, is Ariel Ferrara’s massage tent.
Ariel, a 38-year old manghihilot (a cross between shaman and masseuse) from Sibuyan Island in Romblon, has been offering his healing services in Quiapo since 2000. His usual clientele are mostly spirit-possessed victims of mambabarangs or practitioners of sorcery. But a month ago, a different case was brought to his small tent in Quiapo.
The patient was a 30-year old woman, widowed by the death of her husband who was killed in a drug operation. Under the influence of her mother, she has religiously sought after Ariel’s services at least once a week. Ariel believes that the woman has regularly taken shabu with her husband before he died.
“Okay yan nakarecover na. At saka nakakatulog na ng mahimbing. Hindi katulad dati daw na hindi nakakatulog kasi nga epekto na rin ng droga (At least she’s recovered a little. And she can now finally sleep soundly. Not like before where she can’t because of the effects of the drugs), he said.
Ariel employs a variety of techniques in his craft, but most often he uses a large brown handkerchief inscribed with Latin incantations which he then whispers to his patients as he massages them.
He offers his services to everyone, and only asks for donations in return, believing that it is not right to receive payment for his healing.
Despite incidents of Tokhang operations which yielded several fatalities in the area, Ariel does not fear for his safety. He believes strongly in the protective abilities of the many amulets he wears around his necklace and belt, and in the safety of distance.
“Wala naman akong kaibigan na mga adik. Nilalayuan ko na yan pag mga adik. Baka madamay pa tayo diyan (I do not have addict friends. I distance myself when I know that the person is an addict. Else I be incriminated as well),” he said.
Pagtatapos
It’s early evening in Plaza Miranda, as the final mass of the evening draws to a close. The priest gives his final blessing, and an audible sigh of relief emanates from the cramped hundreds inside the church.
A vast majority of the churchgoers immediately head home, but those who stay turn to the various stalls just outside the parish to shop for knick-knacks. The homily went heavily on the drug war, so vendors of amulets and medallions were eager to sell off their goods.
Despite the boom in his sales, Dante believes that everything is not quite right. Tokhang has to change, or be removed completely.
“Dapat baguhin yung pagiging Tokhang. Kasi hindi maganda yung mga nangyayari para sa akin. Kasi maraming nadadamay na inosente na hindi naman dapat (Tokhang should be changed. The things that are happening today are not acceptable.Too many innocents are caught in the crossfire, when they shouldn’t be).”
But with the revitalized push for the drug war, and continuous rise of the operation’s death toll, many anti-Tokhang anting-antings and agimats are waiting to be sold. #
*Nanay M asked that she not be named, afraid that the police might give her trouble.