Beyond Mysticism: Documenting the Healing Culture of Siquijor

A Life That Did Not Begin in Research
For Dr. Josel B. Mansueto, Professor VI at Siquijor State College, the path to becoming a social scientist was never part of a planned future. She once imagined herself becoming a lawyer or even a soldier, drawn more to history, documentaries, and the idea of service than to academia.

Her academic background began with Political Science at Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, followed by a Master’s in Public Administration. Later, she completed a Doctorate in Instructional System and Resource Management in University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City. Research, however, was never her original intention.
In high school, she excelled more in science and mathematics than in social studies. She initially aimed for engineering, but after falling short of entrance requirements, she followed her mother’s advice to take Political Science, a decision that would quietly change her life’s direction.

The First Encounter with Research
Her first experience with research came during her undergraduate thesis. It was a difficult introduction, requiring interviews and fieldwork that she had never done before.
“I really didn’t have any topic,” she recalled asking her research adviser. The response was simple but powerful: there are so many problems in the world, you only need to find one.
That moment became a turning point. Through completing her thesis, she was introduced to the process of inquiry, analysis, and discovery, laying the foundation for a career she never expected.

A Career That Shifted Across Paths
After graduation, she pursued a career outside academia, beginning in the hospitality industry in Iligan City and Davao City before moving into a role as an HR manager for a Manila-based human resource agency supporting employment in the Middle East. Her early professional years were marked by constant movement, adjustment, and reinvention.

Following her marriage, she relocated to Siquijor due to her husband’s work and accepted a permanent clerical position at Siquijor State College. Although it meant taking a lower rank and salary, it offered much-needed stability. At the same time, she began teaching part-time, an experience that gradually sparked her passion for education.

This stage of her life reflects a reality shared by many career women. Balancing work, marriage, and relocation often requires difficult choices. She experienced how opportunities can become more limited for women after marriage and how rebuilding a career in a new place demands both sacrifice and resilience. Yet Dr. Mansueto also saw that each challenge carried a possible solution, whether through adaptation, shifting roles, or starting again from a different entry point.

Entering the World of Research

Dr. Mansueto’s exposure to research deepened during her time in the college president’s office and further expanded when she later assumed the role of research director. In this capacity, she developed a stronger understanding of public research funding, identified pressing issues in Siquijor that required study, and engaged with various institutions to pursue collaborative research initiatives.

A major turning point came when she was invited to lead the social science component of a CHED-funded research project titled Socio-Economic Contribution of Señora River, Siquijor, in collaboration with Silliman University. This marked her first major research engagement after relocating to Siquijor.

The project opened opportunities for externally funded research, including support from the Department of Agriculture for a study on Organizational and Enterprise Needs Assessment and Design Assessment of Vegetable Production in Siquijor as a Study member. She also led the DILG-TA funded research on the Citizen Satisfaction Index System (CSIS) of the municipality of Siquijor where the output, a training program for the POSTADA (Province of Siquijor Tourist Accredited Drivers Association) became one of the identified Best Practices in the country. She later became involved in DOST-supported initiatives focusing on the documentation of the island’s traditional healing systems.

With guidance from DOST, DOST-PCHRD and Dr. Sia from UP-Manila, and partner institutions such as Negros Oriental State University and Silliman University, she and her team strengthened their capacity in field research, documentation, and community engagement.

The Healing Island and the Challenge of Trust
One of the most significant studies she led, Folk Healing Practices of Siquijor Island: Documentation of Traditional Knowledge and Practices of Health and Development of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library on Health, focused on folk healing practices in Siquijor. The island, often associated with mysticism, “mangkukulam,” and supernatural beliefs, presented both fascination and misunderstanding.

Dr. Mansueto recalls that early fieldwork was met with hesitation from local healers who had already experienced repeated research from outsiders. Some were wary, while others were cautious about being documented. The team addressed this by engaging communities openly, holding consultations, and explaining the purpose of the research.

Over time, trust was built.

It was during this work that Siquijor’s identity as “the healing island” became more than a tagline. It was reframed from its earlier tourism branding image as simply a mystical place, into a community where healing is understood in physical, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions.

Findings from the Field: Folk Healing in Siquijor
Dr. Josel Mansueto’s research on Siquijor’s folk healing practices reveals a deeply rooted system shaped by environment, belief, and community trust, documented through extensive fieldwork across Mt. Bandilaan, coastal areas, river system, and rural barangays.

Fieldwork often began at 3:00 in the morning and lasted until nightfall, following healers as they gathered medicinal plants. Despite the demanding schedule, the work highlighted healers as both practitioners and stewards of the environment, practicing selective harvesting and showing strong respect for ecological balance.

A key finding is that illness is locally defined differently from biomedical standards. A person is often not considered sick unless they are unable to function. Because of this, healers are usually consulted first due to proximity and trust, while hospitals are sought only when local remedies are no longer effective.

Healing practices include pulse reading, candle interpretation, string methods, and use of materials like tawas in water to diagnose conditions. Healers also recognize their limits and refer patients to hospitals when needed, forming a complementary rather than competing system of care.

Plant knowledge is largely experiential and intuitive, with forests described as a “pharmacy” of natural medicine. The team documented over 400 plant species, some potentially endemic, and recorded both local and scientific names due to variations across municipalities.

Building on the discovery of various herbal medicines, Dr. Mansueto expressed strong interest in pursuing interdisciplinary research that links traditional herbal practices with pharmacological studies. Advancing this direction requires the inclusion of a pharmacology expert, in line with the requirements of the Grants-in-Aid (GIA) program of the Department of Science and Technology. To address this, Dr. Mansueto is currently strengthening her research team by seeking collaboration with specialists in pharmacology.

Siquijor’s healing system also blends herbal, spiritual, and religious elements, including holy water and candles, reflecting a culturally integrated practice rather than contradiction. Ethical norms are observed, with voluntary exchange preferred over fixed payments.
Access to healing is shaped by trust and geography, with people often consulting nearby healers they know personally, especially in areas with limited transport. This creates a practical, community-based system of first-line care deeply embedded in everyday life.

Beyond Research: A Life of Movement and Responsibility
Outside Dr. Mansueto’s academic work, she finds balance in watching documentaries, listening to music, and traveling with her son. These interests reflect her lifelong curiosity about stories, history, and human experience.

At home, she shares a close bond with her son, often spending time watching documentaries together. Family life, however, has also involved long periods of adjustment due to professional movement and separation caused by work.

Her experience reflects a broader reality faced by many women balancing career advancement, marriage, relocation, and motherhood. Career stability is often not linear. It requires adaptation, compromise, and persistence.

Yet her journey also shows that challenges often come with solutions, even if they require starting over, shifting roles, or taking unexpected paths.

Siquijor as a Place of Healing and Identity
Over time, Siquijor has transformed its public identity. Once seen mainly through the lens of mysticism, it is now actively promoted as “the healing island.”

For Dr. Mansueto, this is more than a tourism tagline. It reflects a deeper truth about the island’s people and culture. Healing here is not only physical but also emotional and spiritual. Visitors are welcomed into a community that values connection, reflection, and hospitality.

Dr. Mansueto believes that staying in Siquijor allows people to slow down, reflect, and experience a different kind of restoration.

A message to the youth
Research is not something to fear.

It is a process of discovery that cannot be fully replicated by media, technology, or secondhand stories. It is a personal journey into unknown worlds, where each question can lead to new understanding.

Dr. Mansueto encourages young people to begin slowly, perhaps as research assistants or study members, and allow curiosity to grow over time.

Ultimately, her story is one of movement, uncertainty, and transformation. From an uncertain student to a researcher documenting the healing traditions of Siquijor, her journey shows that life paths are not fixed. They evolve.

And in that evolution lies the most important lesson of all: every problem carries within it the possibility of a solution, if one is willing to look closely enough to find it beyond mysticism.