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And with that said, let's begin.
So as the title suggests today,
we're going to be talking about a cult, not just any cult,
but a viral one that's apparently so shrouded in secrecy
that there are doubts that it even exists.
As I'm sure, many of you guys know
I spent the early years of my life in the Philippines
and starting about mid-April,
I began to get a steady trickle of emails
from Filipino viewers with subject lines about some kind
of group that was wreaking havoc
in the country's southern region of Mindanao.
Admittedly, when the first one came in, I overlooked it
and I figured I'd get to it at a later time.
But once more and more started coming in,
I knew I couldn't ignore it.
Now, for those of you who are completely unfamiliar
with the situation, what I'm about to explain is going
to sound like a lot.
But trust me, we're going to circle back around
and dissect everything no matter how crazy sounding it is.
So what exactly is the deal with this so-called cult?
As it turns out,
around the same time I started getting emails,
stuff like Mindanao cult or simply Mindanao started trending
on Philippine Twitter.
Giving Twitter a quick scroll,
you'll soon notice a few common themes.
According to concerned netizens,
the cult's MO is to go around knocking on people's doors
at night and whoever answers meets a grim fate.
That's already weird enough,
but not anywhere near as out there as some
of the other claims.
Some locals also say that the cult members seem
to possess supernatural abilities,
such as shape shifting into animals to blend in
or even taking the form of a loved one
in order to gain entry into your home.
Some even say that these people are able to teleport.
Again, I realize just how off the rails this all sounds,
but let me dive a little deeper
into why people are saying these things.
As I mentioned, it's said that the cult attacks anyone
who opens up when they come knocking at night.
And to many, this was proven on April 31st of this year
when two residents were slain in their own home.
Whoever is responsible hasn't been apprehended
or even identified,
at least not at the time of writing this.
Now, just about a week later,
authorities were still on high alert in the area due
to their ongoing investigation
and that's when they discovered two men
who were out past curfew near the crime scene.
The pair were apprehended and when they were searched,
it turned out they were carrying illegal weapons.
But that wasn't the most bizarre thing.
These photos were released by the local authorities
and featured items that were supposedly also found
amongst the duo's belongings.
To many, this was concrete proof that the cult was real.
And as for what the men claimed,
they told authorities they belong
to something called the Philippine Brotherhood Society,
which doesn't come up when you search it on Google.
It could be because whatever this group is
goes under a slightly different formal name.
But for now, it's left unclear.
I did ask a number of Mindanao locals for their input
on the situation and one of them,
a man by the name of Ian Santos,
told me that he'd heard of this group before
but referred to them as a fraternity rather than a cult.
But anyway, what about all the stuff
about supernatural powers?
What are people basing that off of?
This is the part that gets even muddier, so buckle up.
As I said, this situation went viral
on Philippine social media and as such,
a number of videos and images said to be linked
to these sightings have come up.
Here are two examples where a man,
specifically an alleged cult member,
is seen upon a rooftop seemingly trying
to escape the panicked mob
after supposedly being caught knocking on a few doors.
(indistinct chattering) (dog barking)
(indistinct shouting)
(woman speaks in foreign language)
And here's another video that seems
to feature someone trying to get into a home.
(door rattling)
(footsteps plodding)
(man shouts in foreign language)
(dogs barking)
(man shouts in foreign language)
Now on top of these, we also have some bizarre CCTV footage
of a man seemingly vanishing into thin air right on camera
hence the teleportation claims.
Before we continue, I do wanna point out that a lot
of people are genuinely frightened by all of this,
especially after the incident on April 31st and the news
of the two men who got arrested.
The idea of people knocking on your door
at night would freak just about anyone out.
But having said that,
when it comes to all of the online footage,
be it cell phone videos or CCTV,
it's just incredibly difficult to figure out
if what we're looking at is even in the same area.
With wild rumors flying left and right,
it's safe to say that anything posted online needs
to be looked at a bit more closely
before we can draw any conclusions.
Now, one major thing I wanna make sure not to leave out is
that cults are obviously a real thing
and according to locals in the area,
this rumor about a cult is not anything new.
Another resident by the name of Ferrari Romano told me
that word of a religious sect
in the area was not surprising.
If this cult does exist, its beliefs vary widely,
depending on who you ask.
Some will say that they're devil worshipers
while others claim they incorporate elements
of the native religions into their practice via amulets
and other items.
At this point in time,
all we have is hearsay and there's even rumors
that the group is moving from its current southern post
all the way to Luzon in the north.
The hysteria has mounted to the point
where the mainstream media
and even the police have gotten involved
in trying to catch the cult.
Again, if they do exist.
So for this part, I'm going to provide my personal opinion
on what could be going on here.
I wanna start out by saying that while there is a lot
of panic going on, there's also a lot of skepticism.
Ian Santos, the local I mentioned a second ago,
chalked this up to misunderstandings,
probably attempted robberies mixed with paranoia caused
by rumors of roaming cults knocking on doors.
Another anonymous local I talked to agreed,
stating that while he believed cults existed in the area,
he thought the narrative
in question wasn't all it was made out to be.
When chatting with Ferrari Romano,
he also pointed out that many people assume the guy climbing
on the roof might've just been having some kind of episode.
Although, he does also add that some made the observation
that the man was acting like something called an aswang.
And that's where my thoughts on things come in.
So for those of you who don't know,
aswang is the name of a sort of vampiric creature
in Philippine folklore that goes by different names
in slightly different forms, depending on the region.
Now, I'm not saying that any
of these men were actually supernatural creatures,
but what I am saying is
that everything about this so-called cult came off to me
like an aswang story but repackaged.
And let me clarify why.
Like I said earlier,
the cult is said to appear at night, knocking on your door.
Maybe even impersonating someone you know to get inside.
If you try to chase them down,
they might just switch forms into a cat or whatever else
to evade capture.
As you might've guessed,
these are all classic attributes of vampiric creatures
in the Philippines and even in the West for that matter.
It's common practice in the Philippines to say, "Tao po,"
when knocking on someone's door.
In the most literal sense,
all this means is people/human.
But why say that at all?
It seems a bit bizarre.
Well, it depends on who you ask.
I heard growing up that it was to prevent spirits
or creatures from entering your home.
But depending on the region,
you might hear a different explanation.
Either way, a knock without this announcement is bound
to draw some suspicion, especially at night.
And that would probably be the case even
if you weren't superstitious.
Again, this varies by region but where I was growing up,
people warned me about monsters who would change
into cats or dogs during the daytime and even worse,
they could also change into a human,
although that was framed as being a bit more rare.
In the end, I think the case
of this cult might be a cocktail of truth and myth.
It is absolutely true that two locals were lost
and that the person responsible is still at large.
It is true that two men were arrested carrying cloth
that bore bizarre symbolism.
It is true that whispers
about a a cult have plagued the area for years.
These things when placed side by side are
obviously very scary.
And when you add in the viral nature of the internet,
there's just no telling where it'll lead you.
Now, before I leave, I do wanna clarify
that I didn't mention every single detail
about the situation since it would just turn
into me reading every rumor posted on Twitter.
But I believe I hit the broad strokes.
If anything major comes up, I'll definitely follow up.
And with that said,
thanks so much for watching and an even bigger thanks
to the patrons.
CONNOR H, BASOBSHADOW, WH, SHAUN THE CHB, AJ RUNAWAY,
ANDREW L, ASTRO, BLOODY THE ELF, BRANDON F, CATHERINE L,
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ELON MUSK'S MUSK, JAMES M, JAMIE M, LUC B, MATT J,
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and ZIMBLEDORF THE CALZONE CONSUMER.
Thank you all so much for watching.
And if you're still listening,
you're crazy but I love you.
And I'll see you next time.