They gather ingredients for seven Fridays during the Lenten Season.

On each Friday, they scour the mountains, caves, and seas in the island of Siquijor. They even get ingredients from churches and cemeteries.

Participating in this endeavor are healers (mananambal) and herbalists from across the Philippines who have long frequented Siquijor for this reason.

By Holy Week, in time for the province’s Folk Healing Festival, they bring the ingredients together so they can be made into medicine they use to help treat the sick.

One of them is Marvin Ganzan, a sought-after local healer in Siquijor who has been helping individuals suffering from severe illnesses, including cancer.

In the island and in the Municipality of Siquijor, people call him ‘Mang Avin.’

He and other residents of Barangay Cang-atuyom demonstrated how tree bark, roots, herbs, dirt, insects, and other “secret” ingredients are chopped into small pieces and thrown into a large cauldron filled with coconut oil.

After a while, these ingredients gathered for seven Fridays turn into herbal medicine.

Ganzan said that aside from the medicine they work hard for to prepare and create, seeking help from God is part of their healing sessions.

Their ways are a commitment to the kind of healing methods they - and others who have been seeking their help - have grown to believe in.

Charlie Ongue, a village official and one of those who gather ingredients, said they do not sell the medicine to those who seek their intervention.

Rather, donations, no matter how small, are what they welcome to help cover the cost of expenses in gathering the ingredients and in the brewing process.

Barangay Cang-atuyom is among the areas where herbal medicines are created, including in Barangays Cangmatnog and Cantabon. These villages surround the Bandilaan Mountain View Park where the Folk Healing Festival is held.

At the festival, visitors to the island can also get love potions and herbal blends placed in colorful bracelets.

The festival allows visitors to experience traditional healing sessions, herbal medicine preparation, and other cultural activities.

It culminates on Black Saturday.