MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City police officers wasted no time responding to a distress call by a resident of Barangay Sta. Lucia on Saturday evening over an abandoned man’s torso in their neighborhood.
But what was supposed to be a crime scene turned into a place of surprise and laughter as policemen instead discovered props – made to appear like a chopped up body of a man – for the scheduled village Halloween party for kids on Sunday.
Councilor Iric Vallejo Balog, who owns the props fashioned with jeans and rubber shoes, said he was shocked to know that one of his neighbors mistook it for a murdered man and even called the police.
“Nagulat po. Kumain lang po ako kasi saglit. Sabi ko po sa kasama ko, ipasok na niya lahat [‘yung props]. Marami po kasi kaming pininturahan. Hindi po pala [niya] naipasok kasi gutom na rin,” he said in an interview with INQUIRER.net.
(I was shocked. I just ate for a while. I told my companion to bring all the props inside. We painted a lot of props. I did not know he forgot to take one of the props inside because he was also hungry.)
Col. Moises Villaceran Jr., Pasig City police chief, also narrated how his subordinates were taken aback by unexpected discovery when they responded to the area.
“Sir, ano lang (these were only), props for Halloween,” he said, recounting the report he received from responding officers. /kga