Jaime C. Bulatao

Jaime “Jimmy” Carlos Bulatao was born in Paco, Manila on September 22, 1922. His father, Emilio Bulatao, headed the Physiology Department of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. When his family fled their home due to the carpet-bombing of the Philippines in the Second World War, Butatao's father allegedly brought with him nothing but his research papers. His mother, Encarnacion Ungson, was a public-school teacher before she married.[1] Bulatao had three older siblings: Josefine “Jo” Ungson Jayme, Rodolfo “Dodoy” Bulatao, and Elisa “Ely” Ungson Quizon.[2] They grew up in Lingayen in the province of Pangasinan, where Bulatao was first taught by Belgian nuns.[3]

Bulatao attended St. Theresa's College in Manila for kindergarten.[1] His parents wanted him to go to La Salle for grade school; however, he insisted on going to Ateneo Grade School against his parents' wishes. After further learning about the school, and meeting Fr. John Hurley, Bulatao's parents allowed him to attend.[4] He graduated high school in 1939 as a valedictorian.

Hurley inspired him to become a Jesuit.[5] He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Novaliches at the age of 16,[6] leaving behind his 'childhood sweetheart,' Faley Honzales.[7] He was ordained in 1952.[1] Bulatao then attended Woodstock College in New York, where he obtained a theology degree.[1] For his post-graduate studies, he attended Fordham College in New York and received an MA in experimental psychology, and later a PhD in clinical psychology, with a focus on Comparative Physiological Psychology.

Bulatao taught himself the basics of several languages, including French, Japanese, and conversational Chinese. During the 1980s, when the Philippines was under martial law, Bulatao used his knowledge of French to prevent the arrest of Psychology Department secretary Susan Cellano by Marcosian intelligence agents.[1]

Bulatao began teaching in 1946 at Ateneo before leaving to pursue his postgraduate studies at Fordham. He returned to the Philippines in 1960 and helped establish the Ateneo de Manila's Department of Psychology, where he taught for more than four decades.[7] He also helped found the Psychological Association of the Philippines. In 1964, he co-founded the Philippine Guidance and Personnel Association along with colleagues from various local universities.[1]

He was known for his hypnosis classes, in which he would tell his students to “fly” through astral travel. Ateneo School of Government dean Antonio La Viña, recalled: “Following that hypnotic voice, I once traveled to a friend's balcony and asked for forgiveness from that friend for having hurt her. And sure enough, a week or two later, a letter from that friend came, telling me I was forgiven.”[8]

Bulatao introduced the concept of group dynamics to the Philippines, and wrote The Technique of Group Discussion in 1965. He stressed the importance of understanding the Filipino psyche, undertaking studies on the psychology of Filipino culture and the phenomena surrounding spirituality and consciousness. As a clinical psychologist, he aimed to find the type of therapy that worked best in the cultural context of the Philippines, experimenting with different alternatives that combined both his knowledge of Western methods and his understanding of the local culture.[9]

Despite being a Catholic priest, Bulatao was known for his fascination with the mystical and supernatural. He was most interested in mediumship, hypnosis, and extra-sensory perception (ESP). His interest began when he visited Thailand during the early 1970's where he was introduced to Buddhist monks and their meditation techniques. He began to search for a clinical explanation and to research the effects of this method on one's psyche with a focus on the Philippines. He was in contact with spiritistas (exorcists), faith-healers, and youths who were thought to be possessed. His focus on studying these phenomena was not readily accepted, but his work paved the way for the "Bulatao Method", which combined supernatural and theological questions.[10] He regularly carried a pair of L-shaped dowsing rods he referred to as the “Rods of Moses," which he used to answer questions from students, as well as allegedly find concentration energy fields, and locate missing objects.[11]

In 2010, it was alleged that then-senator and presidential candidate, Benigno Aquino III, underwent a psychiatric evaluation by Bulatao in 1979 that showed he suffered from depression, which some claimed made him psychologically unfit to seek the presidency.[12] This so-called "Bulatao Report" was released and spread through chain mail.[13] Bulatao, however, denied that he wrote and signed the report, claiming it to be false.[12]

By 2008, Bulatao had been diagnosed with both dementia and emphysema.

Bulatao died at Ateneo's Jesuit Residence on February 10, 2015, at 8:25PM after a four-day hospital stay. The University did not detail the cause of death.[8] After a funeral Mass at Ateneo de Manila University's Church of Gesu that began on February 11, he was laid in the Sacred Heart Novitiate cemetery in Novaliches, Quezon City on February 14, 2015.[6]

In a memo after Bulatao's death, the Psychology Department stated that although Bulatao received many awards for his contribution to psychology, he believed that his greatest achievement was teaching.[6]