Nothing to Do? Listen to This Independent Podcast on Philippine True Crime and Mystery Stories
Mar 29, 2020 • Kyzia Maramara
Spending day after day in quarantine doing nothing and watching the days blur together is the fastest way to hitting cabin fever — you do not want cabin fever. Not with weeks more of this lockdown stretched in front of us.
So you’ve swept the entire house and finished all the laundry but you’re not exactly in the mood for starting another Netflix series, we’ve got the perfect new thing for you.
Stories After Dark is an independent podcast on Philippine true crime and mystery stories. There are a total of 14 episodes to date that range from 8 to 40 minutes, the most recent being “The Ozone Disco Fire” uploaded on March 22, 2020.
If you’ve got nothing better to do during quarantine or you’re looking for exciting ways to spend your work/study break, click on an episode. Here are just 8 of the most interesting ones:
Pepsi Paloma: Rape or Publicity Stunt? Suicide or Murder? (1982/1985)
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Delia Smith, better known by her stage name Pepsi Paloma, was 14-years-old when she filed a rape complaint against Vic Sotto, Joey De Leon, and Richie D’Horsie, hosts of the noontime variety TV show Eat Bulaga. Three years later, with no justice to her case, she was found dead in her apartment. Investigations say it was suicide but could there also be foul play involved?
Pepsi Paloma’s case angered the entire nation and to this day, people have never forgotten her name nor the people involved in her demise. It is even said that Filipino rock band Eraserheads wrote their song “Spoliarium” as an allusion to her case, although it was never directly acknowledged by Ely Buendia.
Lucila Lalu: The Philippines’ First Chop-Chop Lady (1967)
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For years and even until now, kids are being threatened that they’ll become the next “Chop-chop Lady” if they don’t go home early. Lucia Lalu, the first documented case of the “chop-chop lady” has a story as gruesome as its name. In 1967, her body parts were found scattered across Manila. Pretty soon the police tag 4 suspects all allegedly lovers of the victim.
Dominican Hill Retreat House/Diplomat Hotel: One of Baguio’s Most Haunted
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Baguio, with its cold weather year-round, is the nation’s “Summer Capital.” A visit normally includes shopping at night markets, visiting the parks, and venturing as far as Benguet to pick strawberries. But for some people, it’s also a great place to go ghost hunting. Diplomat Hotel, the eerie building on top of a hill has had a fair share of ghost stories, in fact, it’s known as one of the most notoriously haunted places in the Philippines.
Antonio Sanchez and the Rape-Slay of Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez (1993)
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Antonio Sanches was the ex-mayor of Calauan, Laguna and is the mastermind for the brutal rape-slay of UPLB student Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of her friend and schoolmate, Allan Gomez in 1993. Sanchez was sentenced to prison for 40 years but as Supreme Court ruling in 2019 threatens his early release for “good behavior.”
The Abduction and Rape of Maggie de la Riva (1967)
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Maggie de la Riva is a well-known female actress and a former pageant beauty queen. In 1967 4 men from influential families abducted her and raped her at the Swanky Hotel in Pasay City. She was then put into a taxi and sent home. Three days later, Maggie filed a complaint and the nation was left in horror at what she experienced. Her rape case ends with 3 of her assailants executed through the electric chair and the other one dying from a drug overdose in prison.
Gil Perez: The Legend of the Mysteriously Transported Soldier (1593)
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In the 16th century, there was a Spanish soldier named Gil Perez who claimed that he teleported from Manila to Mexico after dozing off. The soldier was still wearing his Manila uniform so he stuck out like a sore thumb and was brought to the authorities.
The Hanging Coffins of Sagada and Other Funeral Customs
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There is more to Sagada than mountains and fields you can scream and empty your heart out to. It is a place where Igorots, an indigenous tribe, live. The Igorots practice a 2,000-year-old burial ritual where coffins containing their dead are nailed or tied to the side of cliffs.
Avelina Teodoro and Constancia Pineda: Schoolgirl Backstabbing (1929)
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Arayat, Pampanga was presented with a shocking case of juvenile crime in 1929 when Avelina Teodoro stabbed her schoolmate and “friend” Constancia Pineda. The murder was committed because Constancia supposedly spread rumors about Avelina which drove the latter to stab the victim 37 times with a penknife. What’s more shocking than finding out the murderer and the victim are girls? It’s the fact that both of them are 16-year-olds.
Check out Stories after Dark on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or in any of these outlets.
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