Ghosts haunt Ponce house?

CEBU, Philippines - Strange things are said to be happening in the house of the Ponce family following the massacre last Sunday killing six people at the Palm View Village, Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City.

Some neighbors of the Ponce family now considered the house as haunted because of the alleged scary things experienced by them. Edith Alcantara, 47, who is living adjacent to the house of the Ponces claimed to have heard a hiss coming from the jackfruit tree at the back of the house last Monday.

“Ikatulo gyud to una nawagtang,” she said.

Roberto Bacus, one of the barangay tanods securing the house, said that the family’s dogs are howling at dawn while facing the house.

“Mura sila og muhangop sa ilang amo, mubarog unya mulingkod napud,” he said.

The telephone inside the house also rings during midnight even if it was already disconnected by the relatives of the victims.

“Kadungog mi pero amo gipasagdan kay dili man mi kasulod sa balay wala lang gihapon mi mahimo,” he said.

A taxi cab was also noticed bringing passengers in front of the house last Tuesday evening. However, they did not see anybody disembark from the cab but the driver was seen having a conversation.

Monsignor Frederick Kriekenbeek, of the Mary’s Little Children Community in Talisay City, said that unusual things noticed by the people in the neighborhood were allegedly done by bad spirits.

According to him, it is not the souls of the massacre victims that are wandering and doing bizarre things.

Kriekenbeek said when a person dies whether he is prepared or not he goes directly to God. He said that God can not afford to see souls of his people wandering.

“Human na sa lubong mubalik ang kalag sa kalibutan,” he said.

He said that the house may now be considered haunted but it remains livable. He said unusual happenings inside were not made by souls of the victims but by bad spirits pretending to be souls of the dead.

“Presensiya na sa demons or bad spirits nga naa sa balay karon but maayo nga i-ampo or pamisahan ang namatay sa tagtungod, kana base lang sa pagtuon sa simbahan,” he said.

Emmanuel Ponce killed his wife and three children including their helper last Sunday morning. The incident remains a mystery for police investigators of what could have prompted Ponce to kill his family before committing suicide. — (FREEMAN)