Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

Residents of Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija bathe in mud and don banana leaves to thank their patron St. John the Baptist.

ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija - Hundreds bathed in mud and wrapped themselves in banana leaves here on Saturday to commemorate how Catholic devotion saved their ancestors during the Pacific War.

The "taong putik" (mud people) festival in Barangay Bibiclat reenacts how rain stopped the execution of 14 villagers in 1944.

The Japanese saw the high noon downpour then as an omen, but townsfolk considered this as a miracle from St. John the Baptist, Jesus Christ's cousin, who is often associated with water.

“Patuloy yung kanilang pasasalamat. Mamaya maliligo sila. Parang cleansing ng buhay mo rin. Parang paniniwala ng karamihan na sa maliit na paraan, malinis mo ang iyong sarili,” local priest Elmer Villamayor said.

(Their thanksgiving continues to this day. Later, they will bathe. It’s like they also cleanse their lives. Most of them believe that they can cleanse themselves in little ways.)