The Triple J radio partner of comic John Safran, Father Bob Maguire, is not surprised the 33-year-old has had himself nailed to the cross in a Good Friday ceremony in the Philippines.

It's been reported that Safran, who identified himself as John Michael from Melbourne, joined three local men and one woman in being nailed to wooden crosses in Kapitangan town, just outside Manila.

'John Michael', a 33-year-old Australian from Melbourne, grimaces in pain as he is nailed to the cross during Good Friday rites in Kapitangan village, Bulacan province, north of Manila, Philippines. Credit:AP

Father Bob, who at first had no comment to make about his regular Sunday night radio partner, said Safran would have volunteered to be nailed to the cross in an effort to get a "forensic" insight into religious practices.

"He would not have done it contemptuously," Father Bob told AAP.