13 military science trainees "possessed"

ORMOC CITY , Philippines  — Thirteen college students, 10 of them women, who underwent a summer camp for their Military Science classes at Camp Jorge Downes in this city were reported to have been "possessed" by disturbed spirits when they showed odd behavior starting Wednesday evening, April 20.

They were among the 162 students from different parts of Eastern Visayas as far as Northern Samar province, who participated in the summer camp, which started April 12 until May 8.

The first to be "possessed" was a certain Maria B. (real names are withheld) who, at around 9:55 p.m. suddenly went into a trance and began mumbling. She told her roommates that she was a certain Carmelita who was raped, killed and placed inside a drum sometime in 1826.

Also killed was her young daughter Monica, she said, adding that their bodies were buried on the spot where an ancient acacia tree now stands in front of the Ormoc City Police Office.

Training officer Sgt. Cynthia Mae Oliva told The Freeman they tried to pacify and subdue Maria who exhibited bursts of violence. The next day, Maria did not show signs of improvement, so they decided to bring her to the church where a priest attended to her.

In the morning of Maundy Thursday, however, Maria's condition began affecting other trainees who also began going into trance, showing violent actions, as others would just shout without any reason, said Oliva. A mass offered for them by Edgardo de Loyola, of the Couples for Christ movement here, was of no help either, she said.

By evening or almost midnight, an eerier occurrence happened. Other students and some soldiers saw at the fields of the camp "soldiers" in formation, marching and doing drills. Oliva said she also saw the apparitions.

On Good Friday and Black Saturday, when saying Mass was suspended, de Loyola stayed at the camp to provide spiritual guidance to the disturbed students and their apparently scared companions. He described the scene at Camp Downes as chaotic, while classmates and friends suddenly turned into "instant exorcists," holding Bibles, rosaries, amulets and shouting to drive the spirits away.

On Easter Sunday morning, Fr. Dennis Soon officiated Mass for the summer campers and did some "deliverance" rites, which included a prayer to appease the agitated spirits and spreading salt around.

The spreading of the salt, the priest explained, was not a "superstitious" act but a church rite because these were "blessed," said Soon adding that the church has age-old rituals on these matters. He also believed the students were not "possessed" by demons but merely became portals of disturbed spirits.

Soon said he knew about one Julius Ceasar D who started showing symptoms of possession again right after the Mass. He instructed the training officers to observe if the boy's manifestations get worst, and the Church will be convinced it was a possession.

While all priests know the rites of exorcism, there is only one priest authorized by the Church to do it here in Leyte, said Soon.

Soldiers who've worked at Camp Downes said these episodes were nothing new to them. In 2009, some military trainees were also "possessed" but the spirits would just leave after a while.

According to the training officers and the other students, the parents of the 13 have not yet been informed of the odd incidents, to prevent undue panic.

Camp Jorge Downes, which is atop a hilly portion just outside the city proper, was the sight of a bloody battle between the combined guerilla and American forces versus the Japanese troops. Jorge Downes was the first American casualty and the camp was named after him.