SIX Jun Labo: The Controversial Healer of Baguio City Next to the legendary Tony Agpaoa, Ramon Labo, Jr. is probably the most controversial and colorful healer that Baguio City has. Because of his gift of gab, his utter self-confidence and flamboyant ersonality, Jun Labo has often been referred to as the Muhammad ‘Ali of Filipino healers. He is also one of the most sought-after healers in Baguio City today. I remember the old Belgian lady I saw in Jun Labo’s clinic a year ago. She was crippled by multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheel chair for the past 16 years. She waited almost a month for Jun Labo to arrive in Baguio from abroad and had refused to be treated by other healers. Jun Labo did several psychic operations on her legs and groin and asked her to walk. After a feeble initial attempt, she was able, for the first time in 16 years, to take a few steps without help. We and the Japanese patients who witnessed this dramatic healing miracle all clapped. During that same healing session, I saw Jun Labo lift the eyeball of a Japanese patient suffering from glaucoma out of its socket, extract some blackish tissue from underneath the eyeball and then return the eyeball to its socket without the patient feeling any pain. It-was a rather bloody and eerie operation which apparently did no damage to the eye.Iaime T. Licauco: FIVE Alex Orbito: Answers Common Questions When was the first time that you were able to pen wp body of a patient by psychic surgery and what was the nature of hi ailment? Alex Orbito: That was a very long time ago. The only thing Lean JTL: A.O.: JTL: A.O.: recall now is that I was concentrating very much ona patient suffering from ulcers and doing magnetic healing on him Suddenly, my fingers just went inside his stomach and blood spurted out. I remember that I got afraid when this happened and tried to wipe off the blood. That’s all I can recall now. One time, Magere de la Riva mentioned to me that _you held her hand and pointed it to the affected area of an Italian woman} stomach and Maggie's fingers went inside just like what happen; when you yourself do it. Now, how ts that possible? You see, the spiritual energy can flow through me to another person just like an electric current does. Maggie has a spiritual mind and therefore it was easy for me to do this. Otherwise, it would not be possible. There have been published reports of patients whose kidney stones were supposed to have been taken out by faith healers but when rd PO kndetge an X-ray examination, the stones are still re What can you say about these reports? This sometimes happens because the healer failed to remove all the stones. That’s why it ie j . Y it is imy to know exactly how many sto: een Of healer remove all of them. If there ate, for » for e: and the healer removes only one ot eae aes stones will show the temaining stone. v then the X-ray {jTL: AO: JTL: A.O.: FTL: A.O.: You are therefore implying that tt is not necessarily correct Jor people to conclude that the faith healer has deceived or tricked the patients if this happens? That’s right. We must also remember that this type of healing comes ftom God who sometimes works in mysterious ways. A very common question that I am often asked is this: why is it that our faith healers often cannot cure themselves? How can they expect people to-believe in them if they themselves are powerless to heal their own sickness? For instance, I heard that one healer has gangrene on the foot; another has an eye defect. Why is this so? A healer sometimes cannot heal himself because of the difficulty of achieving complete concentration on himself Also, if the disease requites an Operation, as for instance, appendicitis, you cannot expect the healer to operate on himself. Not even a medical surgeon can do that. In the case of the healer you mentioned, he had that eye defect even before he became a healer and it cannot be restored anymore. The othet aspect to your question is the common experience that a healer often cannot cure his close relatives but he can cure strangers. I myself have great difficulty healing my own children. Other forms of ailments that a healer suffers from which do not require operation or surgery can be done successfully by a healer on himself. For instance, when I was abroad in 1975, I could not breathe. I placed my hands on the affected area and prayed. I was healed without medication. Do you extract teeth with your bare hands, like the other healers? Yes, I do, but I do not do this often especially in Manila because of a sad experience I had with a patient. This patient was brought to me for tooth extraction without knowing that he was insane. : . When I placed my fingers inside his mouth to pull the tooth, he bit my fingers so hard they almost broke. Fortunately, I thought of tickling him and he let go of my fingers. Since then, I have tried to avoid performing toothjTl: A.O.: JTL: A.O.: JTL: extraction, especially in Manila where ther, dentists. In the province, however, whete , te ne, medical of dental practitioners, I perform a : « s only. tay on serious case se ft tha au explain the fact that in all operatic How can Jo xp operations Petorn, ou and other Filipino healers, there is no infection ary, i conditions under which such operations take place are not ont th This is because the healing performed is spiritual inte 2 and the Spirit protects the body. There can be no pone of infection here because ty the Spirit is pure. been hearing reports Lately, Ive that our faith healers have aly, become suspicious of, “people taking pictures and have Asaloyeg bringing home the tissues taken ont of patients. What is the reasyy Jor this change attitude? le who come to observe and take There ate many peop: ictures of healers not out of a sincere desite to learn ftom them but to expose them as frauds and magicians. A photographer of a large publication in Sweden came to observe my operations. But I sensed right away his true motive and so I tefused to have him take photographs. I first interview these people to find out why they would like to take pictures and only when I feel them to be sincere that allow such things. L used to allow people to bring with them the diseased tissues and calcifications taken out of patients for examination. But one time 2 foreigner substituted animal liver and tissues and had these substitutes examined by the laboratoty. Naturally, what came out of the test was that I had been deceiving the patients. From that time on, I never allowed people to bring with them the tissues taken out. If they want, they should examine these things inside my clinic but should not take them out. That way there will be no question o substitution. An officemate of mine who is a textile engis i 1 off y a ygineer told me that ht will believe in psychic surgery only if the healer can perform a sein operation and deliver a hive baby with bis bare hands alone. HaveAO. JTL: A.O.: JTL: A.O.: JTL: A.O.: yon ever done this and do you think it is possible this? I have never done a caesarian : 7 and I do not think that a spititual healer a a surgery says he can, he is probably just boasting, It is ° this. If he for the healer to open up the stomach of a pte ot possible by psychic surgery because what is taken o fa woman of healing is diseased tissue, and ih aah : ' 5 other forms of illness After taking out the diseased tissue, it is thrown away. Yi ' can’t do that to a child. A child is not a disease. Pre: a i a a a And therefore the healer cannot open er up. His obligation is to tak i ci body and to the owe e out disease from inside the But what if the child cannot be delivered through the natural process of childbirth for one reason or another, say, because the child is too big and the mother’s pelvic bones too small, or for some other medically valid reason? Wouldn't you say then that this condition is abnormal, thereby making caesarian surgery necessary in order to save the baby? In such a case, I bless the mother (“binibindisyonan ko ang ina”) or perform magnetic healing on her, so that the child can pass through the natural birth canal. We must remember that the healet’s hand is directed by God. Do you have to go into a trance in order to heal, or are you fully conscious when doing this? I used to go into trance before I could heal and operate. Now I don’t have to do this. I just pray and utter silently a secret word given to me by my spirit guide. Although I am not fully conscious or aware of what I am doing when performing healing, I am not completely in a trance. What I know is that my hands are being guided by the spirit and my facial expression undergoes a change or transformation. I lose my sense of identity as Alex Oxrbito. What do you feel when you are healing? How can you tell what the illness of the person is or where the source of the disease lies? I feel a cold sensation first when the healing energy is about to descend and my hands begin to tremble. Then this is for a healer to do Magicians of God 53JTL: A.O.: JTL: A.O.: followed by warmth all over especially my hands I cou, tell the source of illness because my hand is drawn tg 7 diseased area like a magnet. But now I sometim, 8 Use G X-tay which consists of ordinary bond paper..By me this X-ray I can see the internal organs and the exact location of a cyst, tumor, stone or even fracture. When I place ny fingers inside the body of a patient, the diseased tissues OF calcifications get drawn towards my fingers and all | have to do is pull them out. The left hand controls the materia] body and the right hand the spiritual body. That’s why the left hand cannot be taken out during the Operation, otherwise, the blood will spill out. How are you able to open up the skin of the patient without any instrument? What type of force is present here? I believe that this is caused by spiritual energy. Through my power of intense concentration I am able to draw up or concentrate this power in my hands and the spirit does the rest. Before, I could even make a light bulb break by just concentrating my gaze on it. So, opening up the skin and closing it should not be that unbelievable. Why are some people healed and others are not healed at alje One reason why a person is not healed is because his illness is so severe that he teally has no hope of recovery. Many cases brought to the healer’s attention ate terminal already. Nothing can be done for them anymore. Another reason is negativism and lack of faith. A negative attitude impedes the flow of healing energy. Sickness is sin. It is cau: from the spiritual laws. ‘To forgiveness for his sins and do. Ns of sed by a petson’s departure be healed, one must ask this requires a strong faith to aanELEVEN How I Became A Healer By Sis. Flor Cometa form Psychic Surgery? Was I also a member How did I learn to pet ‘ ~ ll the rest of the faith healers in the of a Spiritist Church like al country? . ; Mr. Licauco, when he asked me this question, was surprised to know that I have never been a member of any Spiritist Church at all. I received my instruction, I told him, direct from the spirit world, without any organizational or human intervention. This spirit being who appeared to me and taught me how to do psychic surgery was a man with a long beard and silver clothes. He had a strong Golden Aura. He would teach me how to heal while I was out of my body and in a trance. There were four other healers who were studying under that same entity. I only remember their names as Tony, Virgilio, Maria and another one whom I had forgotten. Although I started healing at the age of seven, it was only a year later that I was able to perform my first surgery. It was ona patient named Florentino Jimenez, who was suffering from a serious kidney problem, and was alteady urinating blood. That first attempt had been so successful that the man completely got cured. The Science of the Paranormal or Parapsychology has been. given recognition the world over.Almost all the healers ’'ve met in the Philippines, whethe; he or she be an hetbolatio, manghihilot or faith healer, became one because of a divine encounter ot a mystical event in his or her life. As the well-known Japanese psychic reseatchetr, Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama pointed out, one becomes a healer by “meeting a god.” Spiritual healer and psychic surgeon Flor Cometa of Makati saw herself walking up a “ladder to heaven” with a mysterious woman and hearing the voice of God when she was only 7 years old. Alex Orbito dreamed of healing a paralyzed woman, who was a distant neighbor of theirs in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. Jun Labo saw TWELVE Lito Matic: j The Making of a Healer How does one become a healer? Is it by personal choice of by destiny? Dagupan City telling him to change his errant ways because he has a mission in life. Manuel “Lito” Matic, Jr. of San Fernando, Pampanga was no exception. I first learned of his remarkable story when he wrote me a long, handwritten letter in September, 1997 yet. I did not get to read his letter until June 1998 or 9 mo ! " the face of Christ outside the door of their spititist church in addrecced to the Philhpine Dyathy Tuarseox mnths. because jt: "3 F a ~sSIXTEEN ' Eric Yao Vormanns: African “Smoke” Healer 4 the womb of my mother when ny grandmothe : umber of things about me which all came true” wean predicted an . mmanns to me when I met him ina television California, to which he and I wete invited said the child in my mother’s womb ra “he will become a great hedlee, ig ” d travel far overseas an who is originally from Ghana, Africa has ic Vormanns, ; Eric of the world, is now an international arts : te od matted a Belgian woman as predicted. They re in Belgium but he travels frequently to the United States now not ach his brand of healing and also £0 one sessions As a child the young healer co’ see human auras and talk to spirits. At first he could not understand any of these gifts. He thought others could see the same thing. He — puzzled by these abilities but he later accepted them to help suffering mankind. Spirits taught him the method of healing he should follow, which differed from the traditional healing practices of the native shamans of his own country. They therefore looked at him as somebody different from them. Later he could no longer stand the conflict between what he believed was his mission and the traditional beliefs and practices of his own people. He continued his unorthodox healing method. As a result of this, he was practically ostracized from his community. He left Ghana and tray oe Belgium as dictated by the tl veled to Europe finally settling in spirits, He thought at that time that Euro was so neat because, looking at a world Fi e that Europe neat each other. He didn’t realize th ae Sounthes seemed to be took him five years before he could © vast distances entailed and it finalh : ly set foot in Europ: S geSEVENTEEN Psychic Diagnosis: How our Healers Do jt fiche a trend Aside from the sensational psychic surgery, another amazin, that our psychic and spiritual healers do which never fail ¢, ety foreign observers and patient i dimbilty to accurseiy go B iat through psychic imeans, that is, without \ any of the standard medical tools and instruments at all, mg LS Psychic diagnosis is not the exclusive talent of Filip, healers the way psychic surgery is, but the way Filipinos do its uniquely theit own. ; : Take Alex Orbito, for instance. He diagnoses illness using nothing more than ordinary white bond paper and oe oil. He would first apply oil on the affected part of the body, then he would cover it with paper and then would press the top of the paper with his hand. Ordinarily, the paper would simply be smeared with oil after such a process, but on the many occasions that | have observed Otbito do this, the outline of the internal organ would be visible on the paper instead of oil smudges that one would normally expect. If there is a tumor in the area, it will be cleatly shown on the papet. Orbito uses this x-ray-like technique when trying to pinpoint the exact location of the tumor or when he wants to make sure there are no mote tumors, cysts or stones left in the body. Mote often, however, he makes diagnosis simply by looking at the person through his third eye or clairvoyant vision. I recall one incident when I brought to Orbito.a 21-year-old girl suffering from some weakness in her eye-muscles\that caused het eyes to be out of focus. She was accompanied by her father. When she sat down in front of Orbito, I told the hebler she wanted her eyes treated, but Orbito appeared not to hake heard me because he asked her to unbutton her blouse. So I tepeated to him that it was, the eyes she wanted to consult him about. But Orbito ignored 140 Jaime T. Licaucottended these demonstratio waa Thackeray.” nS wete Chatles Dickens and As in the case with other pioneers of medical used unknown methods unacceptable to conventio - science who Dr. Elliotson was later on discredited oe tec pessicien, of his time and despite his invaluable contributic, ractice, is telatively unknown today. Much earlier. a to medical befell the great 16" century physician and alchemist Parse me and later the 18* century Viennese doctor Franz Anton rie Even today, scientists and physicians who become interested in anormal phenomena and psychic powers in the field of no are frowned upon by orthodox medical institutions and are oon given any suppott at all, despite demonstrable evidence of their usefulness. v ~~~ We are only now beginning to understand the largely hidden powers of the mind and its ability to transcend the limitations of the material universe. We are therefore still far from taking the study of the paranormal seriously and from using the abilities of fp psychics to benefit mankind. This is indeed a great tragedy of the (modern world. communityEIGHTEEN Psychic Surgery: For and Against One fact that has become evident to me in my study of psychic phenomena in general and psychic surgery in particular is that aye attitude:ofsthe observer materially changés what is being observed, And the change is not necessarily only one of degree but even of substance or quality. As the Zen author DT. Zusuki pointed out, V“This world is largely our own mental reconstruction.” Let me illustrate this. Only very recently, Thada very lively discussion with a representative of the Belotum University andOn the basis of his four-week observation of four of the most famous faith healers, he was convinced that psychic surgety is just a “clever trick performed by the healers in order to heighten the suggestibility of the patients.” He was also convinced that because of this, faith healers can cure only psychosomatic illnesses, When I mentioned such cases as cancer, epilepsy and brain tumor which have been cured by faith healers, he said these can also be Psychosomatic in origin. So I asked him what he consideted to be non-psychosomatic and he mentioned “broken bones.” Jt became obvious to me that no amount of argument and actual observations would even convince this man of the 146 = Jaime T. Licaucoauthenticity of psychic Sutgety because he already had a pre- conceived conclusion about the whole thing. As Krishnamutti ointed out, a you begin with a conclusion, you cannot arrive at the truth.) The Belgian investigator earlier mentioned represents one point of view. in the study of this controversial subject and, admittedly, it is tht mote commonly accepted point of view. But there are other views and explanations which I consider to be equally important and worth looking into. In his book Pst Heakng, Dr. Alfred Stelter said: + ~ “No one will deny that fakery is possible in the Philippines, as it is the world over. But fakery in these drastic paranormal processes cannot be detected by conventional investigative methods, whose impracticability for judging paraphysical processes has been clearly shown. We must work out new methods of analysis and research for this purpose.” HeTWENTY-ONE On The Healing Practices in the Philippines What are the various types of healing being practiced in the Philippines? / : Orthodox medical practice, duly licensed by the Philippine overnment, is the recognized form of healing in the country e urban areas Of cities. In fact, the Philippines hag 8 dern and most advanced medical schools especially in th some of the most mo and hospitals in Asia. thodox forms of healing, which are not However, the unor! ) necessarily recognized by the medical schools or by the government, are many and quite varied. The herb doctors ot “hetbolarios” are ptobably the most common and most visible of these healers. They are found in every province and remote rural settlements in the country. They heal by the application of medicinal plants which abound in the Philippines. ‘There are the bone-setters of “manghihilot.” They are chiropractors of osteopaths of Western countries in similar to the the sense that they align. broken bones and manipulate nerve: is ded down through some my: ligaments. Their skill is usually han ways. ‘Then we have those who heal by saliva, and by blowing or whispering on affected areas. These ptactices ate usually accompanied by simple rituals. There are also those who heal by prayers and meditations. They heal by ‘The charismatic healers will fall under this group. working themselves up to a religious fervor or emotional state whereupon the power of the spirit descends upon them. Once in that state they heal by making magnetic passes over affected areas | of the body or by simply putting their outstretched hands on the heads of the patients. Many have been seen to collapse at the slightest touch of the healers. 172 Jaime T. Licauco . % recna There G ic ; are people who heal wala ane Philippines, ‘These their healing thoughts towards the pat “means of projecting aid of pictures of the patients, ‘here are not tox ie hha Lately, several healers have eme too many of them. reported tosbe able to cure illnesses dan eae saints, the child Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mothet, ete Then = their power, according to them, through visions, tc. ees have been cured by these healers, abe - a there are the mag ic healers, hese are healers who use a mi imum of ritual. ‘They simply concentrate. yan then walt. for the energy or pran ic. When they feel rai power coming to them, they begin to pass their hands above the affected areas. The effectiveness of such healing is rather remarkable, and I know of one magnetic healer who is able to melt cysts and tumors and to cure leukemia cases by the mete passing of his hands. Unfortunately, this healer has plans of migrating to the United States. Thete are also a few healers who practice reflexology or zone therapy and scientific massage. Usually these people also advocate nature cure. There is at least one well known but controversial reflexologist practicing in Manila. Lately, more healers have begun practicing reflexology. There ate many other forms of unconventional healing methods being practiced in the Philippines such as mystical healing, including some form of white witchcraft. But we obviously cannot enumerate all of them here.S'*“T oe TEP ‘& sv Pree ih nh Wl Ee eee Why are these healers concentrated in the Philippines? No one really knows the answer, but let me advance a combination of factors that have contributed to the emergence of these healers in our country. e in contrast to being merely religious) in nature. eT f time, even before the Spaniards came in 1521, Filipinos already believed in the existence of spirits called anifos. They also believed (and they still do) in encantos ot nature spirits inhabiting forests, mountains, caves, bodies of water and rocks. It is therefore very easy for Filipinos, especially those in the countryside, to be in communion with unseen of 175 Magicians of GodTWENTY-TWO Common Questions Asked About Faith Healing re the genuine faith healers and who ate the fake ones? an one distinguish between the two? / / I have observed no less than thirty (30) faith healers in Manila, Pangasinan, Baguio and Cebu for the past ten years and i ve watched films of four more. I can honestly say that I have not seen any fakery performed by them. What I can say, however, is that there are times when even the most powerful healer I have met is sometimes incapable of performing the simplest material operation ot psychic surgety. There are times when the healers’ Power ate not strong or even present, especially when they indulge in excessive sex, overeating or drinking the night before or else are worried at the time they are doing the healing. When this happens, the more unsctupulous healer will resort to trickery to save face. That is why there have been reports of trickery supposedly perpetrated by these faith healers. The more responsible healers, on the other hand, will not attempt psychic sutgety when they are not in the proper condition. It is therefore difficult to answer the question on how to distinguish the genuine from the fake ones. For even a genuine healer can fake a psychic operation. All I can advise is for the patient to observe the healer carefully and if possible to wait until the healer has treated several patients before he undergoes tteatment himself. Other than this, there is no way you can distinguish whether he has the power at the time or not. Some healers ate more consistently powerful than others, however, and what one should do is go to a healer who has a proven track record of success and has a good reputation. Who a How © Magicians of God 179How effective are the faith healers? What is the pete, of cures made by them? “Ntage This is one of the toughest there has not been any thorough s question. | questions to answer beca tudy addressing itself to this Our healers treat a very large number of People dh single session. Most of the time, these Patients do not boi leave their names or addresses, or even a tecord of the na their complaint. The healers themselves ate not inte: knowing these facts. After a healin leave and seldom come back. So, the healer what has happened to will never know how effective he have observed claim to have 80% to 90% rate of successful cures, But there are no hard facts ot statistics to support these claims. Ip fact, the percentage of cures may not be as high as usually claimed by healers. What is undeniable, however is that there have been a significant number of cases considered incurable by ordinary medical science but which were indisputably proven to have been cured by faith healers in the Philippines e.g—cases of terminal cancer, leukemia, paralysis, etc. There have also been, on the other hand, many cases of spectacular failures. Obviously, this question of effectiveness is one area that requires much further study and documentation before a definite answer can be arrived at. Hopefully, the more tesponsible and far- sighted members of the scientific and medical community will take up this challenge instead of hiding behind the facade of scientific objectivity. As one Filipino medical doctor, who is also Privately engaged in psychic research, declared at a scientific meeting of a local medical society north of Manila: “We can no longer deny the validity of psychic surgery. To do so would be to ignore the growing number of evidence for this form of healing’ > Perhaps, the most direct, though quite simple, reply to this question was given by a faith healer who said that “if psychic sutgery were simply a form of trickery and therefore useless, why is it that there are still so many foreigners who are coming to the 182 Jaime T. Licauco f ther to ture of Tested in ig Session the patients simp) | unless the patient himself tells him after treatment, the healer has been. Two of the healers |obilippines by the plane load to be treated by us, desp e tive — and films that have been citculs, nee the many ers?” Surely, he said, they cannot all he vita $0 out heal ropaganda. if there is truth to the stories then they would ha stopped coming long ago. ve Are there scientific pro es Who have condu ofs of the genuineness of psychic cted serious investigations into the