Night classes remain suspended in a public school in barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City after ten students acted as if they were possessed by spirits.
The commotion took place at the Sudtonggan Night High School this week.
First, two boys suddenly started shouting and hallucinating in the middle of class about 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Their bodies stiffened and they acted as if they were having seizures.
The next day eight girls in another class showed the same strange behavior.
“We are suspending the night classes because the other students fear they may also get possessed,” said Division Superintendent Dr. Eduardo Ompad.
Worried parents went to the school to fetch their children.
Three school girls were brought to the Our Lady of Sacred Heart church in Marigondon.
Fr. Samuel Patriarch, the parish priest said people should not immediately conclude that this was a case of demon possession.
He urged them to pray and strengthen their faith in God. He said he was not an exorcist and would have to seek the assistance of the Archdiocese of Cebu through Msgr. Frederick Kriekenbeek.
At the church, CDN saw two of the girls in their school uniforms shouting “Ayaw” as their parents tried to hold down their flaying arms.
“Duna’y nisulti nako nga among gihilabtan ang ilang gipuy-an ug dili sila mohunong sa pagsamok (Somebody told me that we disturbed their home and they won’t stop bothering us),” one girl said.
Ompad confirmed that additional classrooms were being built and that some trees in the school grounds were pruned. He said Mass will be held every 5 p.m. at the school to calm down the students.
The school head Gilbert Ineguela sought the assistance of a pastor near the school.
Police and paramedics were also called in.