This mockumentary clip proves why manananggals shouldn't come to the city.
9. Manananggal causes panic in Tondo.
Story time: In 1992, people reported seeing a manananggal in Tondo. Some said that the manananggal had been on board a ship en route to Siquijor. But, for some reason, she got stranded in Manila. In some accounts, the ship that she was on got wrecked.
WTF details: People began to claim that they knew somebody who had actually seen the manananggal or that they knew someone whose child was either stalked or taken by the manananggal.
Fact check: People panicked over the thought of a manananggal in the city. Sociologists pointed out that the manananggal story is often used to keep people in line. In the Spanish era, it was used to persuade people to be more pious. In the 1950s, according to an essay by Jessica Zafra, some sources pointed out that Americans encouraged the spread of the manananggal story in the countryside by telling people that strangers wandering into their barrios could very well be manananggals. Thus, they had to report the presence of these strangers. In reality, it was said to be a strategy to identify rebels. Thus, the "presence" of a manananggal in Tondo actually made sense, as fear of her would help curb the nightly brawls that were rampant in the neighborhood. Even tough guys prefer staying home than encountering a creature that wants to have them as midnight snack.
Junior Kilat sings about the mythical creature.
10. Sigbins are the cure for AIDS.
Story time: The sigbin is a mythical creature that's more popular in Visayas and Mindanao. Old folks say that the sigbin walks backwards with its head tucked between its hind legs and that it "resembles a hornless goat, emits a very nauseating smell and possess a pair of very large ears which are capable of clapping like a pair of hands." They also say that it ventures out of its lair during Holy Week in order to "look for children that it will kill for the heart, which is made into an amulet." For some reason, the story about it being the cure for AIDS spread like wildfire in the late 1990s even if nobody really knew what a sigbin looked like. Some drawings actually make it look like a kangaroo.
WTF details: Rich government officials in Mindanao who lived in mansions or large estates were believed to be raising sigbins. They were accused of being too greedy to share the wealth with the people. The blood of the sigbin, its meat, or its oil was supposed to cure AIDS within seconds.
Fact check: There are no words to explain just how ridiculous this story sounds and the fact that many people actually went sigbin hunting. Many hapless people who wanted to make a fortune by catching the animal that would cure AIDS were said to have been shown pictures of albino animals that the con men passed off as genuine sigbins. Many of those who wanted to try their luck at sigbin hunting were asked to pay a fee for the privilege of being part of the sigbin hunting group.
