A white dove at the center of an Easter Sunday Salubong ceremony in Malabon drew animal welfare scrutiny after video footage showed the bird with its wings outstretched and fastened to a cable rod — a rigging method intended to simulate flight during the pre-dawn religious rite.
The Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) went public with its concern on Tuesday, saying the footage raised serious questions about the bird’s condition during the event. In the circulating video, the dove — suspended above the statue of the sorrowful Virgin Mary as part of the traditional ceremony — appears strapped along a horizontal rod with its wings pinned open, unable to move freely. Red-circled close-ups shared alongside the footage highlight the restraints visible on the bird’s body.
“While the intention of the tradition is meaningful, this method may have caused discomfort to the animal. We hope future celebrations can reflect not only faith, but also compassion for all, even to the most voiceless of God’s creations,” AKF said in a Facebook post.
The Salubong — a centuries-old Filipino Catholic tradition rooted in the Spanish colonial period — marks Easter Sunday with a pre-dawn reenactment of the meeting between the Risen Christ and the Virgin Mary. The ceremony typically features a child dressed as an angel descending from a scaffold called the galilea to remove a black mourning veil from Mary’s image, symbolizing the shift from grief to joy. In some parishes, live birds or dove imagery are incorporated into the theatrical staging of the ritual.
AKF said it has already contacted the diocese to seek a formal response to the incident. The group has not disclosed whether it plans to file a complaint under existing animal welfare laws.
