Monday, June 16, 2008 Residents on alert vs 'wild monkey'
POLICE and residents of La Castellana town are on alert against a wild monkey locally known as 'amomongo' reportedly attacking residents and other animals since last week.
Inspector Teddy Velez, the town's police chief, said a lot of residents from Barangay Sag-ang have reported of being attacked by 'amomongo' since last Tuesday.
Salvador Aguilar, a resident, told police he was attacked by the wild monkey. He showed authorities the scratches on his face, back and hands. He said several of his neighbors also saw the monkey attacking domesticated animals.
Mayor Alberto Nicor said 'amomongo' is not a witch or 'aswang' but a wild animal. He theorized it is not remote for an 'amomongo' to live in Sag-ang, considering that the area is at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon.
He added the animal may have been suffering from hunger. "This is one possibility because there may be no food now in the mountain. Or it might be that 'amomongos' habitat has been disturbed by humans, thus, it runs wild."
Velez said he already alerted his policemen as well as the village watchmen and instructed them on what to do in case the animal appears again or attacks residents.
Nicor also alerted residents in nearby barangays even as he advised Sag-ang residents to be calm but to also be prepared with arrows or anything that could be used in fighting the 'amomongo'. (Erwin Ambo Delilan)
