Saturday, January 12, 2008 Couple promises help of duwende, agta for P3M By Mia E. Abellana Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A FIREMAN and his wife in Minglanilla town got so worried over news that their only daughter would die after the Sinulog that they believed the claims of a couple that their connections with dwarves and ogres (duwende and agta) could help save her.
But when the “dwarf” later asked for P3 million, they began to get suspicious.
FO2 Ricardo Marte-zano and his wife Norma were distraught when they ran into Revelyn Quijano and Raul Abadilla last Thursday. Quijano and Abadilla are live-in partners.
“Don’t you have a daughter? She will die after the Sinulog,” they reportedly said.
At 3 p.m., Quijano and Abadilla arrived at their house in Velpal Village, Barangay Pakigne and brought with them the “dwarf.”
Senior Insp. Romeo Santander, Minglanilla police chief, said the couple claimed they had “powers” and could foretell the future.
They “worried” about what they saw because the Martezanos’ only daughter was to die after the Sinulog, which was why they went to pay the Martezanos a visit. The Martezanos were familiar with Quijano and Abadilla, as they met sometime in 2000 at a dressmaker’s shop.
After their news alarmed the parents, the couple reportedly assured them that they had “friends” who could help save their daughter.
Revelyn then brought out a rock and a piece of curtain where her “duwende friend” was hiding.
Revelyn told the “dwarf” that the Marte-zanos needed help to save their daughter from death.
The Martezanos heard the “dwarf” reply that he was willing to ask his fellow dwarves and ogres to help.
As an offering to the dwarves and ogres, the couple asked for P5,000.
The Martezano couple quickly produced the amount and handed it over to Quijano and Abadilla.
As Quijano talked to the dwarf, it replied in a tiny voice that they wanted P3 million.
“Sila ra pud ang magusab-usab sa tingog, kanang murag duwende,” Santander said.
Plot
The staggering amount shocked the Martezanos, since they clearly could not raise the money asked of them.
At this point, Quijano promised to help them raise the amount.
“Ako naluoy gyud ko ninyo. Tabangan ta mo. Kami na lang anang P1.5 million unya pangita lang sad mo sa tunga ana (I’m concerned about you, so I will be the one to raise the P1.5 million and you just raise the other half),” Santander quoted Quijano as saying.
After Quijano and Abadilla left to find the money, FO2 Martizano could not help but feel suspicious about the couple that he called up the police station and informed them about the two.
Police quickly proceeded to the village and waited for Quijano and Abadilla to return at 6 p.m. with the P1.5 million they promised to raise.
At past 6 p.m., they arrived with a bag containing bundles of money.
They even showed it off to the couple, saying they were able to raise P1.5 million to offer to the dwarves.
At this, operatives came out and arrested them.
When they opened the bag, it contained a wad of newspapers, cut to the size of paper bills. Only one P500 bill was on top of the bundle.
At the police station, the couple told police to release them or else their dwarf and ogre friends would arrive to rescue them.
This irked Santander, who challenged the dwarves and ogres to appear.
“Ako silang giingnan nga paabuton nako ang mga duwende diri. Wa man nangabot (I told them I will wait for their dwarf friends but they did not show up),” Santander said.
The police are preparing to file a swindling case against Quijano and Abadilla. (MEA)
