Looking
Back
By Ambeth
R. Ocampo
You
may have received a scam e-mail from a friend, whose account has been
hacked, saying that he is currently on a trip to London, that he was
held up and needs some money to tide him over until he returns home.
Once I decided to reply to the scammer and told him that I had sent
some cash, US$1,000, and that he could claim this from the Philippine
Embassy in London. I told the scammer that all he had to do was
present my e-mail to an embassy employee and look for Dr. Jose Rizal
or Mr. Andres Bonifacio, who will hand the money over. The scammer
replied that he had absolutely no money to get to the embassy and
preferred that I wire the money to a Western Union account in London!
I wish the British police would check out this Western Union account
or, better yet, entrap these people when they come to withdraw the
money.
The
above scam is a newer version of the old one involving a supposed
high-ranking government official who needs your bank account
information so he can transfer his millions to your account and give
you a hefty commission. I don’t know if any Filipino has been
gullible enough to fall for this scam, but it seems that the showman
P.T. Barnum was right when he said that “there’s a sucker born
every minute.” Or maybe we should turn the quote around to “there’s
a crook born every minute.” All the different scams and modus
operandi in the Philippines can make up an entire book, and the terms
used will keep linguists and lexicographers busy because we have gone
beyond generic terms for robbery and robbers (magnanakaw) to various
ways of robbery: snatching, hablot, bukas kotse,
akyat bahay, Ativan gang, budol-budol, dugo-dugo, salisi,
kidnap, carnap, holdap, hulidap, etc. Having all these in one book
will make for engaging and, for some, life-saving reading.
As
a historian, I’m interested in finding out the kinds of crimes
committed in the past and how far back I can go. Police blotters are
the main primary source for this kind of research but having gone
through one or two, I have come to the conclusion that police
blotters are harder to decipher than doctors’ prescriptions. It is
easier for me to read 16th-century Spanish manuscripts on the
Philippines than a 21st-century police blotter or security guard
logbook. I have been told that the Supreme Court Reports going all
the way back to the early 1900s are a mine of detailed information on
various crimes and can keep me busy for years. I wish we had a crime
museum in Manila similar to the Police Museum in Bangkok that
displays gruesome crime-scene photographs, actual murder implements,
and the preserved body of a notorious criminal. It is definitely not
a museum for the faint of heart or queasy stomach.
Reading
the letters of Filipino heroes of the late 19th century, we find
stray references to crime, often robbery or swindling. There are
references to bandits or tulisanes, too, but what about
thwarted crimes? In December 1893, while Jose Rizal was in exile in
Dapitan, he received a visitor named Pablo Mercado, who claimed to be
a distant relative. Rizal felt something was amiss but played along
and even allowed the man to spend a night in his home. We do not know
much about Pablo Mercado or what he had set out to do. Was it
robbery? Was it assassination? Was it a way to get incriminating
information on Rizal? Pablo Mercado was arrested in Dapitan on the
instance of Rizal and, under interrogation, he said he was hired by
the Recollects.
We
have this much from a letter Rizal wrote to his brother-in-law:
“With
regard to Pablo Mercado, I tell you that he came here presenting
himself as a courteous friend in order to get from my letters,
writings, etc.; but I found him out soon, and if I did not throw him
out of the house brusquely, it was because I always want to be nice
and polite to everyone. Nevertheless, as it was raining, I let him
sleep here, sending him away very early the next day. I was going to
let him alone in contempt but as the rascal went around saying
secretly that he was my cousin or brother-in-law, I reported him to
the Commander who had him arrested.
“It
was revealed in his declaration that he was sent by the Recollects
who gave him 72 pesos and promised him more if he succeeded in
wresting from me letters for certain persons in Manila. The rascal
told me that he was a cousin of one Mr. Litonjua, son of Luis
Chiquito, according to him, and brother-in-law of Marciano Ramirez.
He wanted me to write to these gentlemen. He brought along besides a
picture of mine, saying that it was given to him by one Mr.
[Estanislao] Legazpi of Tondo or San Nicolás, I don’t remember
exactly. It seems that he belongs to a good family of Cagayan de
Misamis. Be careful of him; he is a tall boy, somewhat thickset,
slightly squint-eyed, dark, slender, broad shoulders, and of impudent
manners. He smokes much, spits more, and has thin lips.”
Pablo
Mercado was obviously an assumed name. But who was he? What did he
really want? This may be a footnote in Rizal’s life, but would make
an interesting sidebar in the yet unwritten and detailed History of
Crime in the Philippines.
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