Not only does Malacañang deal with past problems of previous presidents, but also with literal ghosts that haunt the presidential office.
Palace employees shared their spine-chilling paranormal experiences while at work in a nearly 14-minute video special by the Radio Television Malacañang and the Presidential Communications Office, titled ‘Malacañang Horror Stories,’ in time for the spooky season of Halloween.
One story was that of Master Sgt. Ramsam Gordo, who has been working as a presidential guard for 28 years, recounted one time during his midnight duty in making rounds within the Palace landing when he heard children playing around 1 a.m. at the Rizal Hall.
When he went upstairs to confirm, he found no one and even went inside further, but to no avail.
‘I went to check every side because the children may just be hiding, but there was no one there at all,’ Gordo said in Filipino in the Halloween clip special, realizing that this may just be another encounter of spirits inside the presidential palace.
Another time he recalled was when he was placed on duty at Gate 4 of Malacañang, from which anyone can see the Palace main lobby due to its close distance. While on duty, Gordo saw three men wearing barongs, whom he all assumed were also guards stationed there.
In his experience, Gordo said only two security aides should have been present since it was already 1 a.m. When he approached one of the guards, he told him there were only two of them at that time. The security aide said he may be being spooked out by Gordo.
When his fellow presidential guard at Gate 4 took a photo of the Palace’s main lobby-with no one in there-they spotted someone wearing a barong
Rian Cortel, a Malacañang employee for 18 years, recounted the time when he was a housekeeping staff member when they were holding a late-night vigil.
Almost all the lights shut off, and Cortel went upstairs to notice a couple in white just staring out the glass window. He told the two that their venue for the vigil was downstairs, but received no response.
Cortel then realized that this may just be another encounter with spirits in the Palace.
For 11 years, Laylanie de Dios has been a Palace employee, and over time, she has had ‘many’ paranormal experiences, such as a supposed doppelganger or spiritual double, and children playing around the halls of Malacañang.
She also shared that she had been feeling the presence of ghosts in different parts of Malacañang, such as on the stairs, where she said she saw a priest in maroon clothing, and on the ground floor, where she saw marching soldiers wearing native hats.
One time, De Dios recalled how she and one of her colleagues were taking a nap at the old stockroom in the afternoon when suddenly a man stepped over them.
The kitchen did not escape the presence of ghosts as Malacañang chef Katrina Matias also had eerie experiences while at work at the old kitchen. Two instances were when a man wearing a chef’s black jacket passed by the hallway and when a nurse was watching her cook.
Matias also recalled a time during the pandemic when she was on a video call with her daughter. During the call, she showed her workmate to her daughter, who noticed there were two of them.
This led her to believe that what her daughter saw was a doppelganger.
Rhiza Mullet, also a Palace employee, meanwhile shared stories of her haunted encounters, one story was when a waiter greeted her in the morning on her way to her office.
When she felt cold after that, she noticed that the man had suddenly disappeared along the hall. She asked her co-workers about the man whom she described as always wearing a smile and how he greeted her.
‘They were all stunned,’ Mullet said of her co-workers who told her that the man she was referring to had died of COVID-19. ‘That waiter was known for being such a workaholic. Because they were too busy to work, maybe they hadn’t distinguished whether they were still alive or not.’
Another encounter was her tour around the Palace. Everything turned out fine, but I was shocked to see an angry-looking man when they were telling stories about how they sat on the presidential chairs placed in one corner.
Mullet said she accidentally looked in the eyes of that man and immediately avoided, but felt the man near him.
‘My hands got cold.I just told myself I don’t hear him or that he’s not real at all,’ she said.