The Manila Film Center

5. The Manila Film Center

The Manila Film Center was the site of a construction accident in the early '80s. And many say the ghost of those who died roam the area looking for live bodies to possess and take over as their own.

When construction of the center was rushed for a film festival, the ceiling scaffolding collapsed, killing several workmen who fell to the orchestra below. Rather than halt construction to rescue survivors and retrieve the bodies of dead workmen, Imelda Marcos, the First Lady and the main financier of the project, was believed to have ordered cement to be poured into the orchestra, entombing the fallen workmen. Some of them were even buried alive in the orchestra. Various ghostly activities were reported on the site including mysterious sounds, voices and poltergeist activity. In the late '90s, a group called the Spirit Questors began to make visits to the film center in an attempt to contact and appease the souls of the workmen who were killed in the building. Some of these spirits claimed to have moved on, but a few allegedly remain. Previously abandoned for its haunted reputation, the building is now currently in use.
An accident occurred around 3:00 a.m. on November 17, 1981 during the construction of the Manila Film Center. Its scaffolding collapsed, and at least 169 workers fell and were buried under quick-drying wet cement. A security blanket was immediately imposed by the Marcos administration, and neither rescuers nor ambulances were permitted on the site until an official statement had been prepared. The rescuers were eventually permitted to go inside the accident site 9 hours after the collapse.
After the 1990 earthquake that hit Manila and the rest of Luzon, the center was abandoned due to the building becoming unstable. This was the state it was left with until 2001 when then CCP President Armita Rufino revealed a full rehabilitation program for the deteriorating building. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the film center’s architect Hong was part of the strategic planning session on how the structure was to be renovated. The rehabilitation cost estimates in 2001 were approximately 300 million pesos which was still considered economical rather than building a new one that would’ve cost 1.8 billion pesos. After its renovation was completed, CPACEAI leased the theatre from the Philippine government in October 2001. On December 10, 2001, the amazing show opened to the public with barely 3 months of rehearsal done. All of the women performing in the production of the amazing show are transgendered and since the show began they have attracted more than 280,000 tourists. The show’s success translated to the Amazing Philippines Theater opening other regional shows, specifically in Boracay and in Cebu. In 2009 at the expiration of their lease, the Amazing Philippine Theatre which operates the amazing show finally vacated the Film Center, moving into another facility. Many have begun to say that the building is cursed.
At the advent of the amazing show vacating the theater, the Philippine Senate was the first entity to eye the facility for its use. Senate Majority floor leader Juan Miguel Zubiri confirmed that the senate has been negotiating with the officials of CCP on the feasibility of leasing the building for the upper chamber. Until the discussions, the Philippine senate has had a 120 million a year lease on the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building in Pasay City, the senate is located only a few meters away from the film center. During the negotiations however, Senator Aquilino Pimintel Aquino raised doubts on housing the Senate in the theater and suggested that it would be better if both the upper and lower house’s were situated in one facility. Currently the house of representatives is situated in Quezon City but has also expressed its plans to transfer to Fort Bonifacio Global City.
The Manila Film Center is said to be haunted as well as cursed due to the accident that took place in the construction of the structure.
It has been stipulated that due to the 9 hours that passed before rescuers were allowed in the site, some of the workers were entombed alive and that the bodies were left on the hardened concrete slabs.
In a 2005 documentary produced by GMA Network’s i-Witness, all 169 workers were traced and the records show that not more than a dozen died. Furthermore all the bodies were retrieved and were given a proper burial. Though many believe this is all a outright lie to put fears and stories of ghosts to rest and out right haunted conspiracy. And many report that whether the bodies are gone or not from the location is seriously 100% haunted by the ghosts that still reside there.

Source: http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/ghosthunting/phillipines.php