Philippine Urban Legends

[asterisk]

I am interested in hearing our local urban legends, and I may be collecting them into a book. Can you help?

What do you know of past popular urban legends like the Robina snake that gobble up customers in fitting rooms?

Here's one interesting one from the Marcos era:

When the San Juanico Bridge (which was renamed Marcos Bridge and then back again), the longest bridge in the Philippines was under construction, there was a rash kidnappings in the Samar-Leyte region.
The explanation: Then first lady Imelda Marcos was in charge of the building. She consulted a "manghuhula" who said that the bridge would never be finished unless the blood of children be let drop on it. So Imelda ordered the kidnappings of children and slit their thoat to drench the unfinished bridge. Their bodies were disposed unto the river. A mermaid or diwate 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 bathe as often as possible.

What's yours?

[Yoshi]

Teka, mag-iisip muna ako...

1. Pusa sa siopao
2. Giant snakes under malls
3. The Manila Film Center tragedy

[bunny]

The Manananggals from Capiz

pwede ba yun?

[bLaCk]

ei, kwento niyo naman yung Manila Film Center Tragedy!!!

[Ira]

The Manila Film Fest story goes that during FM and Imelda's rule, she wanted to have a great and grandiose structure created in time for the Manila International Film Festival (or something like that yung pangalan). So she had the Manila Film Center constructed. This was talagang a rush job. One time, some construction workers met an accident at the site, and instead of having the construction halted and saving them, Imelda supposedly told the workers to just bury/drown them in cement, because there was only a little time left before the film festival. Apparently, ghosts still haunt the Film Center site, the ghosts being the workers that are still buried daw underneath the edifice.

[PuNkChick]

White LaDY ng BAlete Drive

[ascot]

To continue Ira's story :

....and the spirits haunt the buliding to this day. The Spirit Questors ( of Mr. Tony Perez) used to do seances in the CONDEMNED building. They allegedly speak to the spirits of the consturction workers and their families who perished in the "accident".

The spirits, it is said, vow to take revenge on the former First Lady.

Incidentally, the Manila Film Center was rushed because of an international film festival held here back then, attended by the likes of Brooke Shields, and GEORGE HAMILTON....

BTW, my 3rd year hs Filipino teacher is a Spirit Questor, and she told us these stories about the sessions at Manila Film Center and the Ozone Disco.

[fhunkeemonkee]

napansin nyo ba na tuwing lumalabas ang issue ng aswang eh palapit ang eleksyon. kasi twice na 'to nangyari nung nandyan pa ako sa pinas. una nung 92 then nung recently lang nung campaign period for the 98 election. sobrang freak out mga tao nun.

siguro kaya naglalabasan yung mga aswang dahil yung mga amo nila which are non other than those running for office, eh panay panay ang pagharap sa mga tao. naiingit ang mga alagad nila, gusto rin ng exposure

peace!!!

[blue babe]

re: the robina gokongwei snake twin. the version i heard was that in the department store fitting rooms, there were one way mirrors and a series of trap doors and tunnels. if the snake spots someone it takes a fancy to, then at the push of a button...

[Moiraine]

How about dwarves and kapres? or engkantos who fall in love with human females, take them to their kingdom, and make them their wives? Hmm parang more like supernatural stories.

Ito pinoy urban legend, during Centennial, there was a rumor that P100 bills with the red centennial mark on the left part would be worth P1000 (ata) for a sale at SM branches, or they could simply be exchanged for P1000. So people kept money like this, or else bought/sold them at a higher price (P200-300) but of course, it wasn't true. Swerte na lang nung mga nakabenta ng pera nila at a higher price.

[asterisk]

thanks for the response.

Well, the manananggals from Capiz are really folklore or lower mythology. But if they invade the city. That will become an urban legend. There are many reported incidences, but there is actually no story in there, or is there?

Yeah, I've heard about the Film Center lots of times.

The White Lady of Balate Drive is a classic urban legend. And there are numerous versions. What stories do you know about it?

Even the origin of the Balate Drive phenomena is an urban legend itself. It is said that two reporters from a tabloid direly need a story for the paper. They made up the white lady story. Still, none can tell who are these two reporters, nor they surfaced to tell their story.

Schools and universities are rife with urban legends, like ghostly phenomena in old buildings, etc.

Have you heard during when AIDS is a hot topic that a person, who got crazy upon learning that he has AIDS, went around carrying a syringe with his blood in it and inject people with it to infect as many people as possible?

[Moiraine]

I wrote quite a long post here, but I gave the wrong password daw and when I clicked back, my entry was gone. ARGH. I'll write again when I'm in the mood >;

[Moiraine]

asterix it's the first I've heard of the two tabloid reporters in connection with the lady in Balete Drive.

Do you remember Boy Asido? People were scared that Boy Asido would just come up to them and splash acid on their face. From what I remember, Boy Asido really did exist, but he was not this deranged guy who went around disfiguring and blinding people for the heck of it, he really had splashed someone's face with acid, his lover with whom he had quarreled.

I know this really great site of Urban Legends (not pinoy but still a good one to visit). www.snopes.com They not only try to confirm or disprove a legend, but they also try to give explantions on why/how the legends started in the first place.

[asterisk]

Moiraine, that makes two of us. It happened to me twice in a row. First I lost my long reply after pushing tab and backspace buttons. And then wrong password! What's happening?

[asterisk]

Moiraine, I've heard reports of somebody splashing acid somebody, but I didn't know it became an urban legend. Thanks, by the way, for suggesting a website. I've seen several urban legends websites myself but not this one yet.

[asterisk]

Yoshi, may kuwento ka ba tungkol sa pusa sa siopao?

Anyway, My friends and I were eating siopao in Kowloon in Makati, about two years ago. The meat was rather tough and the sauce was parang yellowish brown. Something caught between my teeth and I pulled out something like a piece of nylon cord, only tougher, pliant and thinner. The first thing that entered my mind was "cat whiskers!" Ngee!

[This message has been edited by asterisk (edited 02-10-2000).]

[Ada]

Whattabout that story about blades (as in Gilette) inside Coke in cans, supposedly put there by a disgruntled employee? Or about that guy who fell into the Coke (or is it Pepsi?) vat and wasn't discovered until the container was emptied of its contents, which had been bottled/canned and distributed for consumption? (maybe that's the reason why cola in cans is so cheap these days, eh? )

Is the "three days of darkness" considered an urban legend?

[bLaCk]

hmm... bakit most kasama si Imelda?

[ann]

the film center tragedy is just an urban legend? hmmm ... i wonder if the beheadings in the south & all the military/paramilitary atrocities during the marcos era (inc the manero canibalism & other excesses) will one day be poohpoohed as urban legends soon ...

the urban legend i've heard connected with the film center is that nonoy zuniga is supposed to have been there for rehearsals & when the bldg collapsed, he was in the arms of some woman or other ...

here's another marcos-related urban legend: the yama****a gold ... how can anyone buy that tall tale of how the ferdinand marcoses got their multi-billion-dollar fortune? wasn't 20+ yrs in absolute power the real key to the treasure?

------

*lol* the censor is very diligent ... yama****a, yama****a, yama****a ... *lol*

[This message has been edited by ann (edited 02-10-2000).]

[AteRonee]

What about the earthworms used for Jollibee's hamburgers.