Native doctor cites faith in God in dealing with spirits

EVEN if the country is caught up with the rest of the world in the swirl of scientific and technological advances in the early part of this 21st century, not a few Filipinos still hold faith in the supernatural.

One such keeper of the faith is 61-year-old faith healer Beatrice Salac, a native of Siquijor, who makes her home in barangay Jagobiao, Mandaue City.

Dubbed “Betty the Mananambal (healer)” by residents of nearby towns, habal-habal and tricycle drivers, she has scores of patients from all walks of life and different religious leanings.

Betty won’t ask for a fixed amount as payment and accepts anything donated by her patients.

A small container was lined up along an altar of statuettes of saints including the statue of the crucified Jesus, Blessed Virgin Mary and Sto. Nino.

Though Siquijor is believed by many Filipinos to be an island populated by witch doctors, a notion Betty dismissed.

“Most of the natives are healers and they’re kinder and have better manners than the people from the city,” she said with a smile.

She said it had been a tradition among faith healers to convene in Siquijor every Holy Week where they place all their herbal medicines in one big cooking pan (kawan).

In casting out spirits from people, Betty would call on the name of Jesus Christ.  In her line of work,  she  said she encounters two types of spirits.

She said the first, the white beings also known as “engkanto” are nature spirits who won’t disturb other people so long as they don’t encroach on their “territory” such as trees.

She said there are also black beings whom locals dub as  “agta”, “duwende” (dwarfs) and “tambaloslos.”

Betty said tambalosos look human but their smiles are wider than normal and they consume people who cross their paths. As far as healing people are concerned, Betty said she uses the rosary and invokes the  Blessed Virgin Mary and God.

She also employs holy water, a crucifix and insenso or incense especially when conducting an exorcism. As a manghihilot or masseuse, she also uses herbal coconut oil.

Considering herself a devout Catholic, Betty said she and her fellow faith healers gather every Dec. 18 to perform a ritual called the “dupa.”

She said this ritual consists of praying the five mysteries of the Rosary 50 times while spreading their arms horizontally and parallel to each other.

As a faith healer, Betty said prayer and faith are her strongest weapons in fighting the elements of darkness.

“Only by believing can one fight these spirits,” she said. Tweeny Malinao, St. Theresa’s College (STC) intern