Tanods were sent by barangays Tisa and Labangon to secure the house where crowds have flocked to view an image of the Our Lady of Fatima believed to have shed tears of blood last Tuesday.
Hundreds of visitors from neighboring barangays continue to come to the Rayla household which is hosting rosary prayers and a Mass called the “Kasaulugan sa Pulong” by the San Lorenzo Parish for two nights.
Rayla’s house is in sitio Kanhai in Tisa.
Prayers were led by lay minister Ruperto Rayla, father of Victor Jude Rayla who owned the image.
“Di na namo palampason nga di makakita sa gihimong pag-milagro sa Mahal nga Birhen.. Nituo gyud mi nga milagro ni gikan sa langit (We cannot let this chance to see the miracle of the Our Lady of Fatima pass us by…we believe it is a miracle from heaven,” said Cecilia Eraya, a 53-year-old resident of barangay Labanon.
Aside from P1,000 given by a barangay captain, Esther said they don’t accept money from visitors.
She said they tell visitors to buy candles or flowers to offer to the Marian image.
She said the P1,000 will be used to buy a glass case for the image and prevent it from being touched indiscriminately.
Esther said the family recognizes that the Catholic Church wants to investigate claims of a supernatural occurence.
The image has “stopped” shedding blood, said the family but what looks like bloodstains are still seen on the face of the statue up to its chin.
Victor Jude said he had strange experiences concerning the Our Lady of Fatima when he was still in grade school.
He said he dreamed of a woman clad in white and that he awoke from his slumber with an image of the Nuestra Senora Virgen dela Regla of Lapu-Lapu City on his back.
When he saw the small image he said, “Mama Mary ayaw diha kay madat-ugan ka (don’t stay there because you might be crushed).”
Victor Jude’s father, lay minister Ruperto Rayla, said he respects people’s opinions on the incident.
“The real miracle is inside our hearts and it helps ourselves to change for the better,” he said.