[…] As a balbal, he preys particularly on sick people because their spirits are most vulnerable at that time. He secretes himself under the house, directly beneath the patient. He particularly likes to feed on human liver, which he attacks invisibly; or, also unseen, he sucks the blood of the patient. […]
1967–1968, Richard Lieban, quoted in John P. McAndrew, People of Power: A Philippine Worldview of Spirit Encounters, Ateneo de Manila University Press (2001), page 92