Philippine Astronomers

Philippine Astronomers Publish Results Of UFO Investigations
By Jeannette Andrade, The Manila Times, September 14, 2000

Now it can be told. A team from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has admitted actively participating in the investigation of what is known as close encounters of the third kind. UFOs or unidentified flying objects, in particular. Elmer Escosia, team leader, said they opted to reveal what they have learned so far instead of keeping the files to themselves. “Our files and records are open to the public so anyone can read our reports, if they like,” Escosia told The Manila Times. The team, he said, is composed of eight members under PAGASA’s astronomy division, which was assigned to investigate UFO sightings in the country. According to Escosia, they were able to explain most of the UFO sightings from all over the country which were reported to PAGASA. But until now, he admitted, they were stumped and found no logical explanation for three such sightings.

The first was in 1984, or 16 years ago, when children insisted that they saw “bulbous-headed non-human beings” alight from a large disc-shaped “spacecraft” which landed in Ormoc City in Southern Leyte. It was impossible not to believe the children’s testimonies since they gave the same descriptions, Escosia said. He added they sent the description of the “aliens” to their counterparts in the US who appeared to be similarly stumped. The two other inexplicable sightings were in Las Pi–as and Muntinlupa City in 1997 and the latest on May 10 this year. In l997, Escosia said, at least 40 people reported that they saw 13 odd-shaped flying objects that were clearly visible in the following subdivisions: Uranium St., Pilar Village, Las Pi–as; Dona Josefa, also in Las Pi–as; and Heroes Hill, Muntinlupa. The eyewitnesses described the UFOs as transparent and hollow at the middle, closely resembling a school of jellyfish minus their tentacles.