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Saturday, September 25, 2004
Boy survives 'aswang' attack
THE "aswang," a creature that eats human flesh, may be brushed off as a creature of Filipino folklore and a product of the imagination in the olden days, but for a 16-year-old boy in Tantangan, South Cotabato, it is real.
Tata Porras, 16, of Barangay Cabuling in Tantangan, claimed his 14-year-old brother Michael was attacked by an aswang, which he claimed was disguised as a big black dog with red, glowering eyes.
Porras' descriptions aptly fit the physical appearance of the supernatural being who has the ability to transform itself into different forms while devouring a prey.
He claimed that he and his younger brother were sleeping in a small makeshift hut near their ricefield on the evening of September 22, guarding their farm ducks, when the incident happened.
The boys' parents were sleeping in their house just a few meters away from the ricefield.
"Aswang talaga ang nakita ko," Tata said, adding that the big black dog about three feet-high was about to bite the neck of his younger brother when he saw it.
"Nang kakagatin na niya ang kapatid ko, kinuha ko kaagad ang nakatago naming single shot na baril at binaril ko ang aswang (When I saw the 'aswang' about to bite my younger brother, I grabbed our single shot rifle and I shoot the 'aswang')," Tata said.
He said the "aswang" fled and was lost in the dark.
Prior to the alleged attack, Tata said he heard a squeaking sound outside the makeshift hut.
"Papalayo sa tinutulugan naming dalawa yung ingay," the boy said.
Michael was hit in his right leg when Tata fired the shot at the aswang. He was immediately brought to the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital (SCPH) for medical treatment.
Neighbors who rushed to the boys' location reported hearing Tata shouting, "aswang, aswang!" while pointing to a dark portion of the ricefields.
A local radio station carried the story on air, but some residents refused to believe the story, brushing this off a figment of the boy's imagination.
Others however believe it, citing personal accounts and stories they heard from their friends and relatives living in the allegedly aswang-infested localities in southern Philippines.
Based on the Filipino superstitious beliefs, the usual targets of the aswang are pregnant women and young children. It usually attacks on or before midnight.
(RCB/With reports from Ramil Bajo)
(September 25, 2004 issue)
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