3 fake healers arrested in QC

MANILA, Philippines -  A man and two women were arrested Thursday for swindling elderly people in Quezon City by claiming they can cure illnesses caused by supernatural beings, a police official said yesterday.

Reynold Gabornio, Helen Moronio and Marilyn Chavic reportedly charge P4,000 if the illness is caused by dwarves, but the rate goes up to P7,000 if evil spirits are causing the illness. If the victims want never to be bothered by these creatures, the three “faith healers” claim they can help them if they are willing to take all the money they have in the house and offer it as a “sacrifice” in a ritual.

Superintendent Crisostomo Mendoza, commander of the Quezon City Police District Station 10, said he believes this group of suspected con artists has victimized many elderly people before they were arrested Thursday. He said they were caught after Rosalinda de la Cruz, 42, of Roxas District, called up police when she became suspicious of the suspects’ demands.

He said another victim, Norma Ang, 50, of Barangay Sacred Heart, also called up the police because the suspects took her cash and valuables worth P97,000.

De la Cruz told the police she had paid the suspects an initial amount of P4,000. She said the suspects told her they would be back for the additional payment of P7,700 and that she had better be prepared to come up with her sacrifice to the creatures causing her ailment.

Mendoza said it was at this point when De la Cruz decided to call up the police. But before policemen arrived Thursday, the complainant had already handed out P7,700 to the alleged group leader, identified only as Nita.

Nita managed to sneak out with the money, leaving behind her three companions. The arrested suspects yielded twigs and roots supposedly used in the ritual, Mendoza reported to the QCPD director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele.

Mendoza said police also recovered shredded sheets of newspaper allegedly used by the suspects in their modus operandi, which he narrated in detail.

The group goes around villages scouting for elderly residents who may be suffering from certain illnesses. They would then approach a potential victim and offer the latter their services.

“They would even introduce one of them to be an Aeta native who supposedly has ‘connections’ with these spirits,” Mendoza said, referring to Gabornio, who is dark-skinned and has kinky hair.

“The funny thing is they’re not even from Zambales, they’re Ilonggo,” the police official added.

Once the targets agree to their terms and rates, they would then tell the targets to prepare the sacrifice, which would be wrapped in a piece of cloth and placed in a corner of the house. The group then would perform a ritual, asking everyone in the house to close their eyes.

It is during the ritual when the group would allegedly take out another piece of cloth similar to the one containing the sacrifice and make the switch. After the ritual, the group would leave, telling the victims not to touch the cloth until a particular day arrives. The victims then find out the suspects had duped them when they open the package and find shredded pieces of newspaper instead of their cash and valuables.