ROTAS, CARLA ALENIE D.

TCC – CRC
BSCRIM 1 – HAWK CASE STUDY 1

JUAN SEVERINO MALLARI

Juan Severino Mallari was a Filipino priest, he is the first documented serial killer from
the Philippines. During the Spanish colonial period, Mallari served as a parish priest in
Magalang, Pampanga. He reportedly killed 57 people in the area. In 1840, he was hanged for his
crimes.
Before 1809, Mallari was from San Nicolas, Pampanga, south of Magalang. He studied
theology at the University of Santo Tomas.
In 1809, Fr. Mallari completed his studies at the University and was ordained, after which
he became the coadjutor in Gapan, Lubao and Bacolor. He then vied for the position of parish
priest in several areas, namely Orani, Mariveles and Lubao but was consistently rejected.
In 1816 until 1826, Fr. Mallari became the priest in Magalang, Pampanga for 10 years. It
was during this period that he started believing his mother was cursed or kinulam, which became
his motive for killing. He believed killing people could cure his mother’s ailments. It is also
plausible that around this time, Fr. Mallari’s peers noticed signs of the priest’s mental instability.
He contracted an unknown illness sometime in 1826, which led to an attending priest,
who had to look after Fr. Mallari, finding the personal belongings of his victims in his home. Fr.
Mallari was imprisoned for 14 years. However, Dr. Luciano Santiago argued the priest should
have been sent to the first mental health institution in the Philippines instead Dr. Santiago might
have been referring to either Hospicio de San Jose or San Lazaro Hospital.
During this period, Fr. Mallari also pursued calligraphy, earning him the recognition of
being the second Filipino calligraphic artist-priest, after Fr. Mariano Hipolito.
In 1840, the Spanish colonial government executed Fr. Mallari by hanging. His execution
took place 32 years prior to the GomBurZa execution, where three priests were killed for being
falsely accused of treason and sedition.
Is evil born or made? Is it nature or nurture? The argument for Mallari’s case somehow
treads the line when the supernatural steps into the equation. According to Dr. Santiago,
Mallari's exploits were born from a belief that his mother had somehow been cursed or nakulam.
This cursing was believed to be from the dark incantations of a mangkukulam, who can bring
sickness or death to people through pricking a wax idol with a magic pin. He thought that, by
taking the lives of the parishioners, he would be able to revert the black magic. With the hazy
emotions of love and distress blurring the lines between right and wrong, Mallari set forth with
his killings.
There were no records of what specific illness his mother had been afflicted with, only
that the priest was determined to undo the sorcery. There was also no known basis for Mallari’s
connection between killing souls to save one with regards to black magic. In his mind, he was a
man on a mission. Call it a crime of love, or whatever seems fit. But one can’t dispute that the act
of murder is still a crime. Mallari ultimately reportedly killed at least 57 people during the time
when he presided over the Pampanga parish.
Mallari had a battle of his own in his head. In an issue about Memorable
Kapampangans, Singsing stated that the priest was afflicted by severe psychosis. This was often
ignored by anyone who dared to notice since the perception of mental health at the time was
quite different from how the topic is approached nowadays. Most of the common folk did not
understand what it was and instead blamed it on the supernatural. According to research by Dr.
Miguel P. Tecson, there were still remnants of belief in black magic and superstitions even
though colonial times had sought to change that.
Still, the Spanish view was slightly more advanced for its time, seeing as the world’s first
mental hospital, according to the publication Aleteia, was founded in Spain. The Hospicio de San
Jose—which according to Dr. Tecson’s research was then an asylum headed by religious
charities for the mentally ill—had also been operating for almost two decades by the end of
Mallari’s harrowing killings. It’s precisely this reason why Dr. Santiago mentioned in his book
that he found it odd that Mallari was arrested instead of being admitted to a mental institution.
The priest’s alleged murder streak that had started with his mother’s illness came full
circle when it ended with his own sickness 10 years later. Singsing stated that Mallari had fallen
physically ill, and members of the community decided to visit his place of residence. For people
who had not intended to investigate the string of murders, Mallari’s visitors had a lot more luck
than the guwardya sibil when it came to finding the evidence. With that, the truth about the
harrowing Magalang deaths began to unravel.
It was a spine-chilling sight worthy of a horror movie—a stash of items covered in blood,
located in the house of a seemingly blameless, virtuous man. Suddenly, the mysterious murders
of the past decade began to make sense. There were no records of exactly how he committed his
murders, but the evidence was damning. Eventually, the authorities imprisoned him in Manila,
where he stayed for 14 years until he was hanged in 1840.
The aftermath of the case did not prove to be any better than the tragedy itself. There was
no replacing the precious lives lost, and Fr. Mallari never had the chance to find help. Still, the
Spaniards ultimately decided that the case showed how indios had a natural tendency to believe
all sorts of supernatural tall tales.
The case ultimately ends with divided opinions as to Mallari’s role in it. To some, the
priest himself was an inherently evil, cold-blooded killer who robbed people of their lives. But
for others, he was merely an ill, confused son.
What is sure, however, is that while the case was rooted in stories, it also brought about
one of its own. Because what came out was ultimately a historical tragedy in three parts—one of
an ill man who lost the battle with his mind, another of his mysterious mother’s suffering, and
the last of a multitude of innocent Filipinos who were murdered by a man of God.
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, February 8). Juan Severino Mallari. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Severino_Mallari#:~:text=Juan%20Severino
%20Mallari%20was%20a,57%20people%20in%20the%20area.

Marasigan, T. (1970, January 1). Victim or Villain? The Untold Story of the Priest Who Became
the First Filipino Serial Killer. Esquiremag.ph.
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/juan-severino-mallari-serial-killer-true-
story-a2659-20210828-lfrm