Ghosts in the palace

From Day One of my assumption as press secretary in 2002, I had been warned about creepy happenings inside Malacañang.

There was the legend of the big kapre guarding the giant balete fronting the main entrance of the palace. Also, stories were told by not a few members of the PSG about hearing strange women’s voices during their watch in the wee hours.

It was not uncommon to hear about various offices being blessed every now and then, supposedly to ward off any unwanted unearthly visitors.

One senior official had the windows and doors of his office plastered with small medallions of the Blessed Virgin as added insurance.

Not being the superstitious type, I readily dismissed the ghost stories. And then it happened. One night after a late dinner at the Palace Ceremonial Hall, I passed by my office to pick up some stuff before going home. It must have been past 9 o’clock.

My office at that time was located at what used to be the bedroom of the late President Marcos. To reach it from the Ceremonial Hall, one had to pass through a series of doors and hallways – starting with the Music Room, then through the Ramos Room, another connecting room, and finally the Marcos Bedroom.

As I walked to my office, I had a funny feeling that somebody or something was following me. I could feel my hair rising and my heart starting to pound faster.

In the still of the evening, the footsteps on the wooden floor were very audible. As soon as I reached my office, I locked the door behind me (as if it would have mattered).

The footsteps slowly but progressively moved closer. Then I heard the door knob turn and I felt a slight push on the door. After a while the footsteps started to move away, but seemingly in circles.

What I had heard was now happening to me!

I quickly said three Our Father’s, three Hail Mary’s, and three Glory Be’s.

Somehow, I felt emboldened but I decided to leave in a hurry.

I told myself: “The Thing” can scare me but it can not hurt me!

My first view of “The Thing” from a distance was of a white-haired man wearing a dark suit.

“The Thing” must have sensed my presence because he immediately turned around.

Then he said: “Toting, paano ba lumabas dito?”

It was Secretary Raul Gonzalez and he seemed as relieved as I was.

After the late dinner, the then newly appointed Justice secretary (May his soul rest in peace) had followed me through the “secret door” and somehow had gotten lost in the palace labyrinth.

Honoring our ancient dead

Did you know that Filipinos a thousand years ago decorated their beloved dead with special masks made of gold sheets?

The masks were supposedly meant to keep the soul inside the body and to ward away evil spirits.

Aside from covering their dead loved ones’ features with these masks, the ancient Filipinos also used a variety of gold coronets, fillets, and other ornaments in adorning their dead.

According to a Metropolitan Museum of Manila staff, large burial jars were also made to hold the bones of the dead, along with other objects such as jewelry and other small earthenware.

The Filipinos of long ago believed that a person did not really die completely, and that death was just a door leading to another world.

“As such, that person would need earthly belongings in that world as well,” the Metropolitan Museum staff said.

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