There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
That’s a line from William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet.
Yes, there are things our limited minds cannot fathom because they are mysteries or are out of the ordinary.
Legions don’t believe in the paranormal, which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “not scientifically explainable.” Other words for it are supernatural, metaphysical, preternatural and otherworldly, among others.
I was in a quandary whether to have this article published or scrapped altogether.
Appearing two days before All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1, this piece might make me look like a cuckoo to many.
I remember Judge Florentino Floro of the Malabon City Regional Trial Court, who was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2006 for claiming that his decisions were based on his conversations with spirits (or duwendes in Pilipino).
I used to laugh out loud at Jaime Licauco, my fellow columnist at the Inquirer, for his articles on the paranormal and his journey into the world of the unknown. I said to myself, how did this weirdo become a columnist, and why should people believe him?
Little did I know that I, too, would unwillingly venture into a world that nobody in his right mind would dare to go.
Mahirap magsalita ng tapos. There is no direct translation for that Tagalog admonition, but there are three meanings: leave your options open; never say never and don’t be too sure about it.
I regret having prejudged Jimmy Licauco, who writes the Inner Awareness column in that newspaper.
My first “inner awareness” – as Licauco would put it – was when I had Richard, my cameraman for the Isumbong mo kay Tulfo program at the defunct RPN-9, go to cemeteries to make establishing shots for a special episode that would fall on Nov. 1, 2004.
As instructed, Richard took videos of graves at the Manila South Cemetery in Makati.
When the video was submitted, my staff and I saw three small translucent figures, like the ones in the comic books of Casper the friendly ghost, running around some children’s graves.
That part will appear today on the special episode of Isumbong mo kay Tulfo program on PTV 4 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. It’s a blast from the past of my show.
But the central theme of today’s program, the mystique of All Saints’ Day, will feature an exorcism that took place at Isumbong’s former office at dwIZ radio station in March 2005.
A 14-year-old girl, Mary Anne, was being possessed at times by the spirit of another girl, Marife. The deceased girl was raped and killed in the cemetery of Bato, Camarines Sur.
I sent my reporter, Noemi Reyes, to Bicol after I received a complaint from Marife’s mother that the investigation by the police of her daughter’s violent death was perfunctory.
The mother also said a girl claiming to be Marife was badgering her for justice.
Mary Anne was an orphan who lived, at the time, near the cemetery where the dastardly crime took place.
Noemi interviewed the victim’s mother, then went to the police station and asked to be accompanied by the investigator of the rape-murder case.
It turned out the investigator was one of Marife’s assailants, but I’m jumping the gun on my story.
Noemi came back to Manila with Marife’s mother and Mary Ann, so I could get the story straight from the horses’ mouths.
The mother told me that Mary Anne, when possessed by Marife’s spirit, recalled incidents in Marife’s childhood that nobody else would have known. Mary Anne also knew about Marife’s favorite color, food and the names of the dead girl’s friends.
Mary Anne, claiming to be Marife, told the woman that when she left her body, she saw her parents celebrating New Year’s Eve at their neighbor’s house.
I called Ruben Salansang, a paranormal investigator like Licauco, to perform an exorcism on Mary Anne.
Salansang claims to be able to talk to restless spirits that refuse to “go back to the Light or Source’’ and encantos or nature spirits.
During the exorcism, Mary Anne went into a trance again and lay down on the floor, face up. I sat down on the floor, and with my ear close to the girl’s mouth, asked Marife who her assailants were.
In a barely audible whisper, she identified her assailants as a man, a lesbian and two unidentified persons.
The mother said the man mentioned was the policeman assigned as case investigator, who even accompanied Noemi and the mother to the crime scene!
Salansang told Marife she no longer belonged to this world, and that she should go back to the Light. “Bumalik ka na sa Ilaw, Marife,” were his exact words.
It was a poignant scene. Mary Anne, crying loudly, was tightly hugging the woman who was Marife’s mother. “Mama, aalis na ako (I’ll go now).”
“Sige na anak, pinapayagan na kitang umalis para sa katahimikan mo. Ipagdarasal na lang kita (Go my child, you have my permission to leave for the peace of your soul. I will just pray for you),” said the woman, addressing Marife.
Everyone in the room was touched; some of my staff shed tears. I, too, sobbed silently.
I reported the crime – based on what Mary Anne told me – to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office in Naga City.
The Bicol regional NBI chief (I can’t recall his name now) listened to me with understanding. Then, he said, “Mr. Tulfo, we can’t arrest the suspects based on conjectures.”
That was that.
Anyway, the sequel to the story was that the policeman and the lesbian were shot dead months later.
There were no suspects.
Mary Anne was adopted by Marife’s parents.