All I can say about most of these comments or articles is that they are written in a single perspective without trying to understand the real reason behind them nor the Filipino culture. If this is in all ways wrong, then by all means perhaps annual pilgrimages are wrong like in Jerusalem and other "claimed" holy places. I'm not taking sides, all I am saying is step away from your own perspective, learn, study, engage in the culture and their traditions to "fully" understand before passing judgments or comments that you all state from only seeing and reading one article and not even witnessing or studying the nature/history. A person has a right to give his/her opinion, but to say something is absolutely wrong from no knowledge is "ignorance."