Food aid eyed for "possessed" school children

CEBU, Philippines - After conducting stress debriefing on 17 students of the Jaclupan National High School who were reportedly possessed by evil spirits last week, the city social welfare office is also recommending extending food assistance to the families of the students.

Social welfare officer Felipa Solana said that social workers visited the homes of the 17 students and found out that their families also need assistance from the city because of their financial situation.

Solana said the stress debriefing session was conducted to help the students cope with the effects of the traumatic incident.

Subsequent sessions will be conducted to ensure that their psycho-social functioning will be restored, she said.

This way, social workers can determine if the students need medical treatment or psychological therapy. Certain procedures will also be followed if students are found to be acting unusually during the session.

Talisay City Councilor Semy Cabuenas, chairman of the committee on social welfare, said he will be filing a resolution next week so that assistance will be extended to the families of the students.

Aside from the students, about 12 parents were also present at the Talisay City Hall where the debriefing was made by 11 social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development-7.

The students were divided into five groups while the parents were also divided into two groups for the activity.

The said possession started last Monday wherein 17 students were “possessed”. Fourteen students exhibited signs of possession the following day, including some of the students previously “possessed” as well as a mother who was about to meet her daughter in school and a girl who tried to help her younger sister.

The students reportedly saw an old man, children and a demon while they were in “possession”. They were taken to the Mary’s Little Children, a charismatic community in Barangay Tabunok, where a pray-over session was made by the evangelizers and Msgr. Frederick Kriekenbeek, official exorcist of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Kriekenbeek clarified that students were “attacked” not because big trees inside the school were cut but because they lacked confession and confirmation. However, psychology experts also claimed that what happened was just mass hysteria.

After the incident, a novena Mass was held in the school to run until Oct. 19 for the feast of the Virgin of Fatima. —/BRP (FREEMAN)