Alden Richards revealed his experiences of witnessing exorcism, including one performed on a fan who had “demonic possession.”
“Actually, tatlong beses na po. Dalawang beses sa bahay at isang beses sa tao. Yung unang beses po, yung bahay namin sa Laguna,” the Eat Bulaga host said as he became one of the “guests” on the noontime show’s Bawal Judgemental segment on Saturday.
The episode had guested people who had seen an actual exorcism and encountered other paranormal events.
“Kasi nung kumuha po ako ng bahay para sa amin, nakuha ko po yung property na may nakatayo na bahay dati. Tapos pina-renovate lang po namin yun para maging bago lahat ng laman sa loob,” he added.
But what puzzled the Kapuso actor was that despite an arrangement with the contractor to have the construction done within fourth months, they had trouble finishing it due to distractions they couldn’t explain.
“Nagtataka po ako, sampung buwan na parang walang natatapos everytime na tsini-check ko siya weekly. Nagrereklamo yung mga nagtatrabaho dun na, ‘Sir, may nakikita po kami dito sa master’s bedroom area, tapos lagi po kami nasisiraan ng gamit.’
“So, nagtaka na po ako nuon. Nag-consult-consult na ako sa mga kaibigan ko. Wala pa po akong idea about exorcism. Nakikita ko lang po siya sa pelikula. I just really considered it as entertainment.”
He said it so happened that around this time, he started appearing on Eat Bulaga where he met Fr. Jeff Quintela. It turned out the priest who usually presided the show’s thanksgiving Masses is also the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Antipolo.
“Parang God’s will na rin na nakilala ko si Fr. Jeff. Randomly, nakuwento ko lang sa kanya na, ‘Father, meron akong bahay, ganito, ganyan, tapos di natatapos. Tapos, ito po yung pinapagawa sa akin, mag-alay po ako ng manok, paduguan po ng ganito, etc.’ So, akala ko normal yun.”
During their conversation, the priest advised Alden not to do those things and talked to him instead about the pastoral practice of exorcism in the Catholic Church.
“So sabi nya, ‘Chard, ‘wag mo gagawin yan, lalo mo lang pinapalakas presensya nyan sa bahay mo, kung ano mang masamang elemento ang andun.’
“Kasi you’re patronizing that omen which is very wrong in the Bible kasi whatever is not within the Bible is the work of the devil. Anything na preternatural.
“Actually yung preternatural, ang misconception natin supernatural akala natin multo. Ang supernatural po, yung turo sa akin ni Fr. Jeff, yun si Lord. Yung preternatural yun yung bad omen, bad spirits, yung mga demonyo.”
Alden recalled that on the day he and Fr. Jeff agreed that an exorcism would be done on his house, he said there were a lot of “hindrances”.
“Naligaw sila, which is ang dali-dali lang po hanapin ng bahay namin. Ilalagay mo lang siya sa isang GPS app at mapupuntahan mo na siya. Pero hindi agad nakapunta si Fr. Jeff.”
When the priest managed to arrive several hours later, Alden recalled, “yung sakit ng ulo niya, on a scale from 1 to 10, nasa 8. So, sabi niya sa akin nun, ‘Chard, malakas.’
“Pagpasok niya, balisang-balisa si Father, pinapawisan, yung feeling of discomfort. Ininspect niya muna (ang bahay) kasi yun ang ginagawa sa exorcism ‘pag sa bahay, iikutin muna ang buong vicinity to know which area has the most presence of the bad omen or bad spirit.
“Dun nga sa master’s bedroom madami… tapos bumaba na kami sa sala, we were just a group of five or six people. Then nilabas po ni Father yung exorcism book and nagsimula na siya mag prayers. That was around 4 or 5 p.m. if I remember correctly.”
Alden also remembered that the weather was sunny that day and there were no signs that it was going to rain.
“(But) the moment na sinabi ni Father yung basic line ng mga exorcists na: ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, I cast you out Satan,’ dumilim. Pagkatapos dumilin — and this is happening right in front of my eyes, na di lang pala sa pelikula nangyayari ito — nung sinabi ni Father ‘yon, kahit walang kahangin-hangin, sumara po lahat ng bintana at gate ng bahay namin nang sabay-sabay. As in (parang) may nagagalit.”
Alden recalled the priest telling them not to be afraid and to just continue praying.
“So tinuloy namin ang deliverance prayer. Tapos naglagay kami ng exorcised salt, exorcised oil sa lahat ng pintuan, and then kumbaga natapos na lahat ng rites and the things that needed to be done.”
According to the book Exorcism: Encounters with the Paranormal and Occult written by Fr. Francisco Syquia of the Archdiocese of Manila, exorcised salt and oil are considered weapons in spiritual warfare. The former is used for “sealing boundaries of the room” while the latter for “the victim’s body parts targeted by the demon during the exorcism/deliverance.”
Alden continued, “And then after that, kumain na po kami sa restaurant tapos nagkwentuhan kami ni Father. Sabi ko, ‘Father, thank you kasi di ko talaga ini-expect na sa buhay natin (may ganito), akala ko fiction lang siya, sa pelikula lang, na di totoo.
“Hindi ako natakot eh, parang nagulat lang ako na nangyayari siya.
“Habang kinakausap ko si Father, sabi ko gusto kong lumakas yung faith ko kay Lord… yung right arm ko, in front of us, nagkakaroon ng scratch. Yung scratch nag-simula siya na parang pula lang. And then eventually nag-form na yung maliit na kuko hanggang sa dumugo na siya na wala akong ginagawa.
“Sabi ko, ‘Father, ano po ang ibig sabihin nito?’ Yun nga, kailangan natin palakasin yung faith mo, etc., tapos nilagyan ni Father ng exorcised oil yung braso ko that time and that’s the end of (things happening at the house).”
When asked how is that house now, Alden said, “Sobrang maaliwalas. Since natapos ang exorcism, maraming blessings ang dumating. Magaan at masarap uwian.”
That experience started Alden’s interest in the subject and he has since joined some of Fr. Jeff’s exorcism activities, including one done on a fan.
“Akala niya nakakakita lang siya ng multo and that it’s a skill, it’s a blessing, parang power, but then it’s a deception. Ang decision ko nung una, sabi ko, ‘Father, ipa-pray over ko lang po yung fan ko na ito,’ and then eventually we found out possessed pala…”
His third experience was only two weeks ago when a friend of his consulted Father Jeff for having unexplained skin rashes supposedly after cutting off a certain portion of a tree in a neighbor’s house.
Alden said that he has no third eye but during these very moments, he said he would feel a certain heaviness and “tapos may maririnig ka at maamoy, totoo yun eh, yung mga senses.”
Meanwhile, much to the surprise of his co-hosts, Alden also confirmed during the Bawal Judgmental segment that because of these experiences, he found himself being asked to speak at church events.
Though as a child he was exposed to church-related activities because of his grandmother, “parang nabuhay siya ulit after naka-experience ako firsthand ng mga nangyari sa akin with these kinds of events.”
A picture was then flashed on screen, showing Alden with fellow actor Dimples Romana at the fourth Philippine Conference on New Evangelization with then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Tagle, who’s now prefect of Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Watch the full video below:
