Fire ‘seer’ draws hundreds to Antique village

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—Hundreds of people are flocking to a small village in Antique to ogle over a 3-year-old girl who has been spinning the village’s rumor mill fast over her supposed supernatural power to predict fires.

Authorities and villagers, who claimed to have witnessed the girl’s power firsthand, swore to seeing clothes, sleeping mats, pillows and paper burn inside the girl’s home just after the girl predicted these things would burn.

Among the “believers” were San Jose Mayor Rony Molina and Chief Insp. Gilbert Gorero, town police chief, who said they witnessed things burn inside the girl’s home just after the girl said they would.

Mayor Molina said he was just one of the hundreds of curious people who checked what he said was a phenomenon inside the girl’s home. He said he saw a pillow burn just after the girl said “fire … pillow.”

“I can’t explain it. I’m a town mayor and I don’t easily believe in this kind of things, but I saw it,” he said.

Police officer Gorero said he saw a biscuit burn on its edges without anyone touching it. “I did not believe it at first. Why would I? But we came to investigate after many people came to the girl’s house,” he said.

He said he saw five objects suddenly catch fire or smolder without anyone touching them.

“We have been trying to come out with a logical explanation but so far we have not found any,” the police officer said.

Molina has ordered policemen and village watchmen to monitor the girl’s house as throngs of people have started gathering there.

A fire truck was put on standby. Mayor Molina said authorities wanted to help the girl’s family get medical tests for the girl. The girl’s parents—a tricycle driver and jobless woman—might need counseling, too, because they have been losing sleep since the girl became an object of curiosity.

“They want peace and privacy but people will keep on coming until we can explain what’s happening,” said Molina.