Almost Mugged: Modus Operandi at Ligaya / Marcos Hiway
Earlier today, while on my way to Eastwood City (C5 Libis), I found myself being targeted by snatchers. This could practically happen to anyone anywhere, so it’ll be better if I share the exact details: around 2:30 PM I rode a jeepney at Ligaya, Marcos Hi-way enroute to Pasig Palengke, then I was supposed to get off at Manggahan. Then it happened inside the jeepney midway.
Marcos Hi-way. Photo taken from http://d0ctrine.com
I was minding my own business looking at the scenery outside, when suddenly a man in front of me, who seemed to be in a state of panic, forcefully pulled my right-leg and kept shaking the cloth of my pants. He screamed that a @#!*($ bug (I couldn’t remember the name) crawled its way inside. The scream broke my train of thought.
Being the gullible idiot that I am, I took the man’s words to heart and panicked along with him. This went on for a few seconds, but then I realized I didn’t feel anything crawl up to me at all. It got me doubting. Then here comes wingman #1 and #2, who appear to be unrelated to the panicking guy, and said that it’s a dangerous critter that has rabies. ‘Rabies’ and the added affirmation triggered more panic, even though at the back of my head ‘WTF kind of bug has rabies? That’s the first I’ve heard of!‘
I went along with the manong’s ‘kind gesture’ to protect me from some magical creature, and that’s when it hit me it could be a robbery in progress. I know it’s pretty slow of me, and I bet the other passengers were already way ahead. I rolled my eyes over to the side where my phone and wallet were and I saw a man with a bag covering his lap. I remembered what my sister said: putting things on their lap is a well-known camouflage technique to hide itchy hands, so I immediately checked my pockets. Good thing my phone and wallet were still there- and that’s when I saw him slowly creeping his hand from under his bag.
Up to this point the manong kept pulling my leg, instigating distraction. He stopped when he noticed I got a grasp of the situation. Then the 2nd wingman said that all is good and there’s nothing to be worried about anymore since they were able to kill it, while pointing to a blind spot on the floor. I tilted my head to take a look, but saw nothing. They just smiled and had their clean escape in the next block.
After they got off, the other passengers voiced their concern and told me to check my valuables. Nothing was lost, although the fact remains that I still played along with their mind games. I still was caught off-guard- if some factors of the process were altered that would have made me panic more or give them more room to operate, the result would be different. I was also lucky that the other concerned passengers who knew what was going on gave an eerie stare to those snatchers which probably made them loose their morale.
In the end, the lesson learned here is to ALWAYS be alert of the people and things around you, whenever or wherever you are. And don’t trust people too easily. It’s pretty cliche but everyone tends to forget that when they get too comfortable or confident. And thru some weird system of the universe, the bad people almost always get to see those openings. Even a friend of mine recently got his phone stolen at Cubao by prostitutes on his way home. In my case, my mind was floating somewhere in fantasy land when the guy grabbed my leg. I was like “What? What!? What’s happening!?” and just adapted to their reality where some bug crawled up to my pants.
We’re always wide open when outside in public places, so take extra care and extra caution.
Perfect Renders
6 Comments
grabe! kung sa akin nagnyari to, wla silang chance na makuhaan ako kasi tlgang mag o-over react sa pag galaw ndi lang legs ang igglaw ko buong katawan!pra maalis yung insekto! hahahah! baka bumaba pa ako ng jeep at magtatatalon. :)
swertehan lang din tlga minsan, i had my fair-share of pickpocket stories and sobrang swerte lang na hindi na tayo yung tipong tinututukan ng baril or patalim! baka himatayin pa ako kung nagkataon! wag naman sana mangyari sakin! or sa kahit kanino.. :)
I can just imagine, Rmimoi :)) You should share your own experiences in your blog para yung criminal M.O. database natin mag-widen ;D And YES, kung may weapon man yung snatcher, wag na umangal. Di worth it mag-risk mamatay para sa pera, cell phone o kung ano man :(
Thank you so much for sharing this horror story. Hey, at least nothing worse happened! I’ve never been mugged before but I always keep in mind the other horror stories that had been shared to me. I guess the trick is to be vigilant and be aware of the goings on wherever we are. But then, sometimes it’s tough when you’re a dreamer. XD
The men who mugged you seemed to look decent (haha) for you “trusted” them at first look.^^;
No prob, Patti! We gotta help each other out ;) And it’s good to hear you’ve never been able to experience the horrors of getting mugged or anything worse. Yes, being “vigilant” is a great way to put it- show that facade that “none’s gunn’ mess wit you or else they done fo’!” XD
The men who attempted to mug me looked like construction workers (you know: jersey, maong shorts, sunburnt skin, ripped bodies with backpacks), but I guess we really shouldn’t judge people by the way they look so I didn’t care. Remember that even a man in an executive corporate suit can be just as evil. Or worse.
I heard that sometimes, a guy would also “fake vomit” on you just to distract you. Same place.
And oh,I’m sorry. D:
Fake vomit? Lol they’d really go to such measures, huh? What’s more, in broad daylight! >.
Btw, why you sorry, Kitty? Wakaranai ;(