A Modern Visayan Urban Legend

   

A certain Warlito Toledo alyas “Waway” made the news rounds in the 1980s, ‘90s, and early ‘00s. Local blogs state that the earliest arrest record of him can be found in Danao, Cebu. He was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide on November 8, 1989. Later on, a rape case was filed against him on September 10, 1996. He was finally arrested on December 1, 1999.

In September 2002, another rape case was filed against Waway. He fled and his whereabouts were not known until five years later, when he was implicated in a rape and murder case of a 17-year-old student in Danao.

Sigbin

The Sigbin or Sigben is a creature in Philippine mythology said to come out at night to suck the blood of victims from their shadows. It is said to walk backwards with its head lowered between its hind legs, and to have the ability to become invisible to other creatures, especially humans. It resembles a hornless goat, but has very large ears which it can clap like a pair of hands and a long, flexible tail that can be used as a whip. The Sigbin is said to emit a nauseating odor.

It is believed to issue forth from its lair during Holy Week, looking for children that it will kill for their hearts, which it fashions into amulets.

According to legend, there are families known as Sigbinan ("those who own Sigbin") whose members possess the power to command these creatures, and are said to keep the Sigbin in jars made of clay. The Aswang are said to keep them as pets, along with another mythical creature, a bird known as the Wak Wak.

There is speculation that the legend may be based on sightings of an actual animal species that is rarely seen; based on the description of the Sigbin in popular literature, the animal species might be related to the kangaroo. With the recent discovery in the island of Borneo of the cat-fox, a potential new species of carnivore described as having hind legs that are longer than its front legs, it has been postulated that reported sightings of Sigbin may actually be sightings of a member or relative of the cat-fox species.

The myth is popularly known in Visayas Islands and Mindanao.

Source: wikipedia.org

The San Juanico Bridge has a bloody foundation

Story time: The San Juanico Bridge's foundation had allegedly been made stronger by the blood of numerous street children. The kids were the "offerings" for a pagan or demonic ritual to guarantee the strength of the structure. This is why, people say, the bridge is haunted by many lost spirits. Others say that the success of the bloody rituals done for San Juanico Bridge encouraged others to do the same for their bridges and buildings. Only one detail was constant: the use of street kids as sacrifice.

WTF details: A post in a PinoyExchange thread states: "Imelda Marcos was in charge of building the bridge. She consulted a manghuhula who said that the bridge would never be finished unless the blood of children [would be spilled on the foundation]. So Imelda ordered [street children to be kidnapped] and [their throats were] slit on the bridge's location. Their bodies were thrown into the river. A mermaid or diwata who resided in the river saw the plight of the children and was saddened by it. She cursed Imelda. So the First Lady grew scales on her legs and she smelled fishy. That was why she wore long skirts and bathed as often as possible."

Fact check: Whoever concocted this tale probably wanted to scare off street kids. Or maybe he or she had some serious issues with the San Juanico Bridge or Imelda Marcos. The latter may be more likely as the story is believed to have originated in the Marcos era.

Source: http://www.spot.ph

The Ghost Taxicab

Taxicabs are one of the main transportation we can find in big cities. Unlike jeepneys and buses, taxis are more private, for-hire vehicles. What I mean is, taxis can only take limited passengers inside, not as much as that of the former two vehicles. They're also more comfortable compare to other passenger vehicles, because aside of being air-conditioned, they can bring you on locations of your own choice.

Anyway, I have read a lot of stories about taxicabs. Some of them are criminal in nature (a modus operandi), and some of them are ghostly. Two taxicab caught my attention, and it was owned by the Maligaya Taxi Cab and Malaya Taxi Company.

Red Horse (The Urban Legend)

Some of you knew what Red Horse beer is, and what does it taste like. Right? But I'm not commenting on what the taste of it is and I'm not making any story to disparage the beer just to destroy its appeal to those who love drinking it.

The San Miguel Brewery Inc. was a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation.

One of our readers suggested this urban legend. Its about this logo of a bottle with the smiling horse on it than the usual side view picture of a horse in the present bottles of Red Horse. They said, the one with a "happy" horse taste much stronger and kicky than the other. Unfortunately, I don't drink beer so I don't know what it taste like.

The Story

The reason why there is two kinds of Red Horse beer in the market is because the San Miguel Brewery Inc. changed there logo in 1992. The old one has a smiling horse on the face of the bottle with label on the back printed in red. The new one has a much serious side view face of a horse with labels printed in white.

You can still find a happy horse Red Horse bottle in the market because they are still in use at present. It will take 20 years, starting the changed of logo, before the happy horse vanishes. You can determine the age of the bottle by looking at the bottle’s scuff level. It’s the white band around the neck of the bottle. the thicker it is, the older the bottle.

I was searching in the internet about the taste difference of the two, and I found out that they are similar. Its only their logo that differs, and they made no changes in formulating the same beer.

The Red Horse beer contains 6.9% alcohol volume. The ingredients are still identical - water, malt, hops, any of the following: cereals, sugar or starch.

Sources: http://philurbanlegends.blogspot.com/

SPOLARIUM

Songs are created by song writers to express their feelings, to tell their stories, and to say their disappointments for something. All of the songs are meaningful - they may expressly or impliedly say something from within. 

One of our viewers suggested a topic to me through e-mail. She asked me to create an article of a song with a hidden meaning on it, or backmasking. I became interested, so I begun searching songs with hidden meanings. There were many, but only one caught my attention - the Spolarium of Eraserheads.

The Song

The song Spolarium was written and performed by the Eraserheads, and was included in their album - Sticker Happy. The song was allegedly hiding something puzzling behind the poetical lyrics. People who hear it might not understand instantly what was in there if they don't know the story. On the other hand, people may also misunderstood the song if not gently inspected and studied.

Now, let's have the lyrics of the said song.

Spolarium By: Eraserheads Dumilim ang paligid May tumawag sa pangalan ko Labing isang palapag Tinanong kung okay lang ako Sabay abot ng baso May naghihintay At bakit ba pag nagsawa na ako Biglang ayoko na At ngayon di pa rin alam Kung ba’t tayo nandito Pwede bang itigil muna ang pagikot ng mundo Lumiwanag ang buwan San Juan 'Di ko na masasakyan Ang lahat ng bagay ay gumuguhit na lang sa 'king lalamunan Ewan mo at ewan natin Sinong may pakana At bakit ba tumilapon ang gintong alak dyan sa paligid mo At ngayon 'di pa rin alam Kung ba’t tayo nandito Pwede bang itigil muna ang pagikot ng mundo Umiyak ang umaga Anong sinulat ni Enteng at Joey dyan Sa gintong salamin 'Di ko na mabasa Pagkat merong nagbura ahhh… Ewan mo at ewan natin Sinong may pakana At bakit ba tumilapon ang spolarium dyan sa paligid mo? At ngayon di pa rin alam Kung bakit tayo nandito Pwede bang itigil muna, ang pagikot ng mundo Pwede bang itigil muna, ang pagikot ng mundo Pwede bang itigil muna, ang pagikot nga mundo

Spolarium By: Eraserheads The surroundings dimmed Someone called my name Eleven(th) floor(s) And asked if I was okay While handing me a glass Someone was waiting And why is it when I’ve had enough Suddenly I don’t want it anymore And now, I still have no idea Why we're here Can we please just stop the earth from revolving The moon shone San Juan I may not be able to ride (on it) Everything is just drawing a line (trailing) across my throat You don’t know and we don’t know Who did it And why did the golden liquor spill all around you. And now I still have no idea Why we are here Can we please stop just for now, the world from revolving The morning cried What did Enteng and Joey write In the golden mirror I can’t read anymore Cause someone erased it ahh… You don’t know and we don’t know Who did it Why did the spolarium spill all around you? And now I still have no idea Why we are here Can we stop it for now, the world from revolving Can we stop it for now, the world from revolving Can we stop it for now, the world from revolving

                      

Tide is the devil's detergent

Proctor and Gamble (P&G) was one of the largest multinational company that has business in the Philippines until now. They are the manufacturer of Tide, Ariel, Safeguard, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and many others.

Despite their good image in the public, someone would still put stain on their name. There was this urban legend that circulated in 1980s that somehow made a great impact to the people. It was said that the Proctor and Gamble was a profit-generating ar of a Satanist group. People were told that the moon-and-stars logo found on the boxes of P&G products was the symbol of the Anti-Christ. The number of the Beast, "666," was supposed to be hidden in the logo.

Legend

Legend has it, that the earnings of Procter and Gamble were supposed to be used for the world domination of demon worshippers, or to support a Church of Satan. There were also emails asserting that the so-called "owner" of P&G had appeared in a US talk show (Oprah Winfrey's, Sally Jesse Raphael, Phil Donahue, or Merv Griffin's) and admitted that "a large portion of his profits from Procter & Gamble Products goes to support [the] Satanic Church." The email even gives details on how one could obtain a transcript of the said show. The catch? There was no such episode in any of the shows mentioned. Moreover, P&G is a publicly help entity. Thus, it's not owned by a single person. 

Nardong Putik

Leonardo Manecio (sometimes credited as "Manicio") aka Nardong Putik was a Filipino gangster turned folk hero. Putik was born in 1923 in Sabang, Dasmariñas, Cavite. His father was a politician of some consequence in his town who was killed by his political enemies. Putik was a driver by profession and at one time saw services as a policeman in Dasmariñas. Putik was married to Feliciana but had many common-law wives. He had one known son, Leonardo, Jr. and two known daughters, Angelita and Estrellita with his legal wife.

An amulet-wielding hoodlum from Cavite province, Putik credited his ability to survive and escape numerous ambushes and gunfights to his anting-anting (amulet). Nardong Putik's ability to elude the law and his enemies made him a legend to many people.

According to Caviteños, Putik got that name as he was known to submerge himself in mud paddies, among carabaos, using bamboo or papaya stalks as breathing tubes, whenever he had to evade a police or military dragnet. But according to some people, he can be invisible once he set foot on the mud using his anting-anting.

His mysterious powers and unexplainable abilities made him a legend, and that's the reason why I put him here. 

Biringan City

About

This story was featured in the GMA Channel 7, Mel & Joey, hosted by Mel Tiangco and Joey de Leon. According to them, this city appears to be somewhat a kind of portal from and going to the other world.

Have you heard of a city of wonder, which appear and vanish  at the same time?

Anyway . . .

In the Province of Samar, the Philippines, the mention of “Biringan” evokes awe, fear, intrigue, knocking on wood and innumerable signs of the Cross.

What is Biringan? It is reportedly an undefined location somewhere between Calbayog City and Catarman, Northern Samar, where a mythic city(ies) of indescribable grandeur is/are said to exist, unvisited by ordinary mortals, known only by magnificent folk stories that refuse to die despite the advent of television and the internet. Other reports extend its area to as far south as San Jorge, Samar.

Biringan’s “now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t” quality indicates it is not of the usual land and water terrain in which we live in. It seems to exist in a different dimension, which explains why its boundaries can overlap with known towns and cities of Samar island. On moonless nights, seafarers aplenty have reported seeing a dazzling city of light. In a few minutes, though, the manifestation is no longer visible. Obviously, Biringan is not likely to be shown on any map or atlas. But specialized (infrared, ultraviolet, etc.) satellite mapping photography have reportedly turned up a shining area in the reported general location of Biringan.

The Boyfriend's Death (Broadway Centrum)

The story happened in the old Broadway Centrum. 

[Taken from Internet:] 

There was a couple inside a car when they noticed a guy walking around them. Of course the girl, in fright, told her boyfriend to go out and confront the person. After hours later, the girl was freaked out when the head of her boyfriend just abruptly appear on the window. Next day, she was found by the police insane. Legend has it that the guy walking around them hunts couples doing something inside the cars.

[Taken from http://underbonesphilippines.com]

The story goes that a couple went out on a date one night somewhere along New Manila. Then their car breaks down; good thing they were able to steer it to the broadway centrum parking lot. The boyfriend gets out of the vehicle and tries to fix the problem, but fails. So he tells the girlfriend to stay in the car, close the windows, and lock the doors while he's looking for help. 

An hour later, the girl was getting anxious waiting for her boyfriend to arrive when she notices a strange man watching from the shadows. this man approaches the car and starts banging on the windows and trying to force open the doors. Terrified, the girl honks the car horn to get attention and scare the man off. He stopped and hurriedly left, only to return a few minutes later. then he circled the car, deliberately, holding something in his hand, which he raises to the window.

To her absolute horror, the girl realizes it was her boyfriend's decapitated head! That's not all: she was even more horrified to see what the man lifts up in his other hand: the boyfriend's car keys.

Allegedly the poor girl was so traumatized by the experience that she lost her mind.