Near the gate to the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga, three agusu trees stand in a cluster that locals call "Tres Marias" — named after three sisters who, according to local legend, were killed and buried at that exact spot. The trees that grew from the earth above their graves are considered living tombstones, and the sisters' spirits are blamed for the vehicular accidents that cluster around the site with unnerving regularity.
The identity of the three sisters and the circumstances of their deaths are obscured by the fog of oral tradition. Some versions of the story place their murder during the Japanese occupation, when violence against Filipino civilians was commonplace. Others date it to an earlier period — a crime of passion, a family dispute, or a random act of brutality that left three women dead and buried in unmarked graves by the roadside. What every version agrees upon is that the sisters were not given proper burial rites, and their spirits have never been at peace.
The accidents near the Tres Marias trees follow the pattern associated with Filipino road hauntings: sudden mechanical failures, steering that locks or pulls to one side, drivers becoming disoriented as they approach the trees and losing control of their vehicles. Some motorists report seeing female figures standing at the base of the trees, their faces pale and their expressions sorrowful, who vanish when headlights sweep across them.
The agusu tree, like the balete, holds a place in Filipino supernatural belief as a dwelling for spirits. The Kapampangan tradition is particularly rich in tree-spirit lore, and the combination of three spirit-inhabited trees at a site of violent death creates what locals consider one of the most concentrated supernatural hazard zones in Pampanga. Prayers and offerings are regularly placed at the base of the Tres Marias, but the accidents continue — the three sisters, it seems, are not easily appeased.