‘Rebuild old town library’

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

THERE are now at least 90 students from Initao National High School who have allegedly been possessed by “evil spirits” since Friday last week.

Using the students, the “spirits” allegedly demanding for the school authorities to rebuild the town library they demolished in Initao town, Misamis Oriental.

Initao municipal mayor Enerito Acain, V is now calling all religious sectors and other government line agencies to help the affected students and possibly intervene in countering the alleged “evil spirits.”

He said the religious group from the nearest Roman Catholic and Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) have started accommodating the “possessed” students with prayers inside their respective churches.

He added that school authorities has started seeking intervention from different churches and spirit believers to conduct some spiritual rites but failed.

“I admit nga lisod kini nga problema tungod kay wala nato makita kung unsa gyud ang hinungdan og responsable ngadto sa mga estudyante,” Acain said.

Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano, for his part, sent the chairman of the Provincial Disaster Reduction Response and Management Council (PDRRMC) in-charge Jun Dy along with MisOr Cares in-charge Lalai Ocot to conduct an assessment.

However, both answered that they could not give their proper assessment because it was mainly a “spiritual concern.”

For the past few days, parents and lay ministers rushed the victims to the nearest Catholic and Filipinista churches where the students were immediately anointed with oil and holy water and were prayed over. They also burned incense to drive away the spirits.

Acain said students who were possessed by “spirits” were reportedly angry over the demolition of the school library last year.

Marvin Bernaldez, lay-minister of the local Catholic church claimed that the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental has already sent a parish priest.

He identified the priests as Fr. Norlian Julia, SJ and Fr. Rudy Sian, SJ and two other seminarians from St. John Vianney Seminary. The priests and seminarians, Bernaldez said, celebrated a mass inside the school premises and conducted a procession.

“Ang mga bata nakuyapan og ang uban nag-singgita sa dihang nag-sige nami og ampo. Wala man pud diri among mga parish priest kay tua sa Manila. Gani duna’y krus nako nga gidala nga gibali-bali sa mga bata,” he said.

He claimed many rosaries were destroyed when they heard mass near the site where the old town library stood.

“Kung pa-imnon namo og bendita ila man isuka. Ang uban nga (possessed) kay dili mo-inum,” he said.

Former Principal Reynaldo Cabilla, who had eerie experiences inside the campus, claimed she believe demonic possessions are real.

“It was already late and I was going home when I saw mystical children play on the school ground,” he said.

Some locals claiming to have an ability to communicate with the supernatural said the spirits would only be appeased if the library would be reconstructed in 15 days and if buried bones beneath the old structure would be exhumed.