The JREF recently announced that Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers is volunteering to invite paranormal claimants in the 
Philippines to take part in our Million Dollar Challenge. He will also be blogging for us on some of the unique challenges a skeptic faces in the Philippines. I asked him to elaborate on some of those challenges, and our conversation follows:
Brian: How widespread is belief in the paranormal and pseudoscience in the Philippines?
Red: As a predominantly Catholic country, less than one percent of the population consider themselves naturalists; the majority believe in some form of the supernatural. Even those who consider themselves Catholic believe in all sorts of things not taught by the Church -- from fortune telling and feng-shui to demons.
Brian: What are some of the most pernicious paranormal beliefs in the Philippines, and are some more harmful than others?
Red: Belief in horoscopes, psychics, and fortune tellers seems harmless, but many Filipinos lose a lot of money looking for answers in the wrong places. This reinforces the supernatural and wishful thinking that keeps Filipinos from effectively solving their problems, be they money- or health-related. The most harmful ones are those related to alternative medicine. Faith healing, psychic surgery, albularyo (medicine men) -- Filipinos rely on them because of lack of resources or education, needlessly wasting their money and keeping them from effective and safe cures.
Brian: Are there specific celebrity psychics or healers whom you would like to invite to take the JREF's Million Dollar Challenge?
Red: Jaime Licauco is a popular paranormal expert I'd like to invite to take the challenge. One popular group is the Esoteric Society of the Philippines (formerly Spirit Questors), a group that does psychic investigations on reports of ghosts and demons.
Brian: There must be several issues negatively affecting people in the Philippines. Why focus your attention on being skeptical of paranormal claims?
Red: I believe that many negative issues affecting the country can be attributed to a lack of skeptical thinking. For example, we badly need a reproductive health law that will give sex education and access to safe contraceptives. But it cannot pass because of the unscientific myths and misconceptions about contraceptives peddled by those who claim to be scientific just to mask a purely fundamentalist agenda. If Filipinos learn to be skeptical about claims made by authority, our country will not only become more scientific, we'll be more democratic as well. As Carl Sagan said, when it comes to science and democracy, you can't have one without the other.
Brian: What are some of the unique challenges a skeptic in the Philippines faces?
Red: Many skeptics are non-believers, and non-believers are one of the most misunderstood minorities in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country. Things are tough even for Catholic skeptics because many irrational or pseudo-scientific ideas -- although not taught by religion -- are held religiously. Authority and tradition are still seen as sources of truth, and when these clash with science and reason, the former often prevails. There's a long way to go before the Philippines can accept skeptical ideas in particular and skepticism in general.
Brian: How have you been working to expand your local skeptical community?
Red: In 2009, I founded the Filipino Freethinkers, an organization that promotes reason, science, and secularism. We have an active online community and regular face-to-face meetups to discuss freethought and skeptical issues. We've been guests on TV and radio, giving the scarce scientific perspective lacking in discussions on various issue. We also advocate for more science and skepticism when it comes to policy making, routinely debunking unscientific claims and arguments used by conservative and fundamentalist legislators and advocates.
Brian Thompson is the Field Coordinator for the James Randi Educational Foundation.
