Aired (January 14, 2024): A church in Angeles, Pampanga was believed to be inhabited by bats for almost 40 years. Learn more about this story by watching the video.
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00:00 [Music]
00:10 The Church ran to those who wanted to pray and ask for help in the face of crisis.
00:16 [Music]
00:20 But a part of this Church was immediately shaken.
00:24 [Music]
00:28 Because there are people who say that it is too dark and should be avoided.
00:34 [Music]
00:44 Outside, you can see an ordinary Church.
00:48 [Music]
00:56 But there are others who entered and lived here.
01:00 [Music]
01:02 At first glance, they are the first to be noticed.
01:06 They are sleepy and sleep in the morning.
01:09 Even if they are just one foot stuck, they do not fall down easily.
01:13 [Music]
01:19 Their feet are shaking and trembling.
01:22 [Music]
01:30 It's time to rest from their hunger for food at night.
01:36 They are insect bats or "panikit".
01:40 [Music]
01:46 They usually live in caves and forests.
01:49 But in this Church, they chose to stay.
01:53 And their presence is not accepted by many here.
01:59 [Music]
02:01 There is a part of this Church where the "panikit" have already been buried.
02:06 I am with Jesse, one of the caretakers of this Church.
02:11 As you enter here in the belfry, it is a column.
02:17 And then, the stairs are round.
02:21 We can see the dirt here.
02:24 As you enter here, there are traces.
02:28 Because of the layers and layers of guano or the feces that the bats produce here,
02:36 they create layers.
02:38 That's why there is a cushion.
02:39 It's not like you're stumbling on cement.
02:42 Dark, cold, and quiet.
02:45 It's a perfect habitat for the "panikit".
02:47 [Music]
02:49 They are now here in the surroundings.
02:51 They are near the trees and walls.
02:54 For some reason, they prefer the walls over the trees.
02:59 Because it's cooler.
03:00 Bats have a very high metabolic rate.
03:03 Their bodies are hot.
03:06 And they are constantly on the move.
03:10 You can see them flying and moving around.
03:14 Especially at night, they fly large or long distances.
03:18 As we go up, the other "panikit" are moving backward.
03:23 [Music]
03:29 Who would have thought that a bat with a dark reputation
03:34 can find a place inside a church?
03:37 But their abundance causes fear among the people who worship here.
03:44 And they are more in the belfry or tower of the church bell.
03:49 I tried to make it ring.
03:51 [Bell ringing]
03:53 But...
03:54 [Bell ringing]
03:59 So, our bats are not triggered even with the noise?
04:02 Yes, nothing happens to them.
04:04 I think they can also be driven away with the noise.
04:09 You can feel the vibrations.
04:11 But they don't care.
04:13 They are just here.
04:14 Some of them are resting, sleeping.
04:16 They are not even awake.
04:18 They are just flying around.
04:20 The "panikit" are used to this place.
04:23 Maybe because they have been living here for a long time.
04:26 [Music]
04:29 When the earthquake hit in 2019,
04:31 the NET put a net on one side of the church
04:34 to prevent the falling materials like cement.
04:38 But the NET was the one who hid the "panikit".
04:43 I stayed here for one or two minutes.
04:46 I felt the sound of the bats dropping droplets
04:50 and the solid particles coming from the walls.
04:54 It's a big job for the church to control the bats' population.
05:00 It has now become a pest for them.
05:03 First of all, for the parishioners,
05:06 and for the structure itself of the church,
05:08 it is affecting because of the presence of these bats.
05:12 One of the species here is the black-bearded tomb bat.
05:17 They are social animals, so they are used to gathering.
05:22 But in our circle, there are "panikings" who are dead.
05:30 So it's been dead for quite a while.
05:33 Maybe it's been dead for three or four days.
05:36 It's said that as you climb the stairs,
05:41 you will see a lot of dead people.
05:43 This one here died while hanging.
05:46 Why?
05:48 Maybe he was sick when he arrived here.
05:52 He took a rest and then he was brought here.
05:57 According to Jesse, one of the church's officials,
06:01 the "panikings" have been here for almost 40 years.
06:05 This started in the 80s.
06:09 The old priest always had this problem.
06:16 Since it became a problem, especially when it rains,
06:20 the stench of the rain affects the parishioners here.
06:32 The priests have asthma.
06:36 So the problem is really an infestation.
06:40 For so many years, are you okay with them being here?
06:43 They shouldn't be here in your church.
06:46 Some of the "panikings" are also worshipping.
06:51 We have been worshipping here for a long time.
06:54 We are used to the smell, the noise, and the poop of the bats
07:00 that pass by during the worship.
07:04 I don't want to hurt the bats.
07:06 I just want to help the church to get them out of the area.
07:13 Even if we can't get them out,
07:16 we can still avoid them from spreading inside the church.
07:23 Other than that, they are not harmful.
07:30 Which is good.
07:31 At least we are letting them.
07:34 They also consulted the D.N.R. on how to solve and get rid of the "panikings" here.
07:40 Now, the authorities are still studying this.
07:44 It's a tricky question.
07:46 It's a choice between preserving the wildlife,
07:50 which is actually protected by Philippine law,
07:53 and of course, the immediate public health concern for the people,
07:57 especially those who are worshipping.
07:59 There are several means, or ways, of how to relocate.
08:04 There are places in South East Asia that are numbered by the thousands or by the several hundreds.
08:12 At night, they come out and close the openings.
08:17 So, it was such a time that they can't come back.
08:20 We do that every day so that there are no more "panikings" left inside.
08:24 There's a reason why the "panikings" came to live here.
08:30 Because of the deforestation and the destruction of the caves,
08:35 they are forced to look for new habitat.
08:39 This is a church that was chosen by these animals.
08:43 In a way, because there's nothing else you can do.
08:47 They're here.
08:48 You can change things, they will just migrate to other locations inside the church as well.
08:53 And I think, instead of, they just accept it.
08:56 Just accept that they're here.
09:00 And then maybe hope and pray that one day, they will find a better place elsewhere.
09:06 Bats are one of the most misunderstood animals that we have.
09:14 Because they were always portrayed as villains in movies.
09:17 But if we really understand,
09:20 bats play a very important role in our ecosystem.
09:25 They pollinate flowers, they control the population of insects,
09:28 and they're prey animals for other species of reptiles and birds.
09:32 The "panikings" that came to live here,
09:36 they didn't choose to live in a place that is noisy and noisy.
09:41 And they don't like it.
09:43 They would have preferred to live in the woods and caves.
09:48 But even those places are no longer theirs.
09:53 So, even if I get the bats, it will be hard for me to live there.
09:58 There's no place for the wild.
10:04 [music]
10:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]