Licauco (who is without a doubt the number one purveyor of pseudoscience and all things paranormal in the Philippines) has written numerous books on the paranormal. He also once hosted a radio show on the paranormal. And he currently writes a column on the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the paranormal. In short, he's the go-to-guy in the Philippines when it comes to paranormal stuff.
Writing books, hosting radio shows, and writing columns about the paranormal is cool. But if you go around pushing the stuff as if they were scientifically proven, or they've been reliably tested, then there arises the problem. It can be very dangerous. How dangerous? As dangerous as parents not vaccinating their kids because of their religious beliefs.
In his columns, Licauco always claim that he only believes in something if there's evidence backing it up. The irony of this is the fact that almost all of the pseudoscientific stuff he believes in and writes about have no shred of evidence for them. Licauco believes in reincarnation, telepathy, tarot reading, and that aliens once visited planet earth and helped ancient civilizations build the pyramids and astounding structures that we see today! These are just the tip of the iceberg of the ridiculous things that he believes in. In his writings, he often references the works of psychics and authors who have been debunked over and over again as frauds like Uri Geller, Erich von Daniken, and Jun Labo. Licauco also wrote a book about Labo, a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who was eventually exposed as nothing but a trickster. Licauco also wrote a book about duwendes. Yes, a book about dwarves.
In a recent piece he wrote in his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Licauco made another round of bold claims. He says that a certain doctor from Bacolod City made his migraine and kidney stones go away by simply applying the visualization technique he learned from one of Licauco's seminars. Licauco also makes the assertion that, "What the mind imagines, the body accepts as true and real." This is an old trick often utilized by self-proclaimed life coaches. You know, just imagine that red, flashy car and sooner or later you will be actually riding it through the freeway.
Licauco's visualization technique not only heals migraines and kidney stones, it can also be used against sinusitis, skin problems, myoma, gastritis, back pains, and even a herniated spinal disc.
 |
| Jaime Licauco, the author of numerous books on the paranormal. Image credit: photo from Facebook. |
He also offers consultation services. For his efforts, you will have to pay a whooping 1,000 pesos per hour. To be fair to Licauco, these are his rates back in 2013. Maybe they are lower (or higher) now.
Looking at all the absurd stuff that Licauco has been putting out through the years, you can't be faulted in thinking that he's a charlatan. That he's a knowledgeable person who knows that the stuff he is peddling are crap but peddles them anyway because there are bunches of people willing to buy them. So is Jaime Licauco a charlatan? Or does he really believe in the things he's saying? We don't know. You have to read his stuff and decide for yourself.
