The flogging stuff is pagan... IIRC the Roman Catholic church frowns on it. Cross dragging... if they want to cross drag, fine. Many Christian groups do it. The gospel doesn’t say to do that kind of gratuitous suffering. There’s quite enough suffering simply entailed in striving to do good to an evil world that doesn’t want it. But Phillipines are weird.
>> gratuitous suffering
You said it right there.