Real cases of cannibalism in the Philippines.

—a thread;

1. Amil Brothers
In probably one of the most gruesome modern cases of cannibalism in the Philippines, three brothers butchered their own mother to death in February 2014, after which they devoured her corpse.

According to authorities and witnesses, Dante, 35, Paroy, 21, and Ibrahim, 18, all Moros hailing from Ampatuan town in Maguindanao,  hogtied and hacked their 56-year-old mother Musala to death and then feasted on her body “as if they were wild animals.”

When the body was recovered, several internal organs, the innards, and the eyes were missing. The brothers claimed afterward that they only tried to purge their mother of an evil spirit that was possessing her.

Their neighbors, meanwhile, have said that the brothers may have been high on drugs when they committed the killing. Others, however, invoked an old tale that the brothers came from an accursed family of “ghouls.”

2.Raymundo Fonte.
Although little is known of Raymundo Fonte’s history, it seems he was a tuba gatherer from Capiz (the folkloric haven of ‘aswangs’) who killed his co-worker Benliro Liberato with an oar after discovering the latter sleeping in his boat on Dec. 19, 1900.

The body of Liberato was later found floating in a stream, with his intestines, eyes, ears, and nose missing. Upon his capture and subsequent trial before a US military court, Fonte confessed to the killing and declared that he had eaten the missing body.

He was hanged on Dec. 13, 1901.

3. Eladio Baule
The macabre incident, which took place in the hinterland town of Narra, Palawan on July 17, 2004, started when the bride’s father Eladio Baule became angry after his cousin Benjie Ganay accidentally touched the bride’s bottom during the dance.

With the help of his son Gerald, nephew Sabtuari Pique and another cousin Junnie Buyot, Baule accosted Ganay and took him to a secluded area where they hacked him to death.

They then roasted his body with kerosene and coconut leaves. After sampling their creation, they then brought the victim’s roasted remains back to the party and served it to the unwitting guests.

They would have gotten away with the crime too if Buyot hadn’t confessed to the police. He claimed that at the time of incident they were all drunk and had only been forced to kill and eat the body parts of their relative.

The shocking crime received international coverage due to its bizarre nature. Incidentally, Narra’s tourism suffered as a result of the townspeople being labeled as cannibals.

4. Efren Matedios
A shocking case of cannibalism hit the sleepy town of Tabuelan, Cebu on May 23, 2011, when 29-year-old Efren Matedios disemboweled his 6-year-old niece and ate her internal organs.

Matedios, who was later arrested and charged for murder, claimed that he was innocent and stated he only did the act to prevent the child from becoming a ‘manananggal’. He denied he was a cult member or drug user.

His neighbors also said that weeks prior to the incident, Matedios had accidentally angered a reputed old witch in the area who cursed him to become an ‘ungo’ or flesh-eating monster in local folklore.

They added that they were shocked at the incident since they knew that Matedios doted on his niece.