Holy Week in the Philippines held in towns throughout the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and in the Ilocandia, as well as in Makati in Metro Manila. Except in the Bulakenyo towns of Baliuag and Pulilan, the Passion tableaux are excluded from the Good Friday afternoon procession. Maundy Thursday (Huwebes Santo) is the first statutory public holiday of the week, and marks the beginning of the Paschal Triduum. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Procession of the Passion of Christ was held on Maundy Thursday. This was later transferred to Holy Wednesday for Latin Rite Catholics, with the Philippine Independent Church (which separated
Holy Week in the Philippines from Rome in the early 20th century) retaining the Maundy Thursday date. Among the most famous processions of the Philippine Independent Church are those of Concepcion, Malabon, Santa Cruz and Paete, Laguna. The first rite of the day is the Chrism Mass, in which parishioners join their priest for morning Mass in the cathedral, especially in the large dioceses and archdioceses. Many priests consider this to be the day when they renew their priestly vows. This Mass, over which presided by the bishop of the diocese, is when the Chrism, oil of catechumens and the oil for the sick are