TUDELA, Misamis Occidental – As the police here continue to face blank wall on identities and motives of men knocking on doors late at night, scared residents took their protection by themselves, not with guns, but by indigenous means – they spike suspects with old nails.
A victim of “knock-knock boys,” Mila Jean Paalisbo of Barangay Basirang, said her husband and a cousin recently tucked old nails on pieces of plywood and discretely put it at where the suspects might be walking through.
And it worked. At night on April 8, Paalisbo said they heard soft noises followed by a thud of somebody jumping over the fence and suddenly a subdued shout of a man, “aguy, aguy, aguy!” (ouch, ouch, ouch!)
The following morning Paalisbo said they discovered that one of the old nails was missing.
“If somebody is limping because of a wound on his foot, he might be the suspect,” Paalisbo said, adding they were already coordinating with barangay officials, the police and their neighbors.
For several weeks now residents here have been scared by unknown men in motorcycles knocking on doors late in the night.
Even Mayor Samuel Parojinog admitted that his family was also scared that they now close their home early.
Parojinog helped on calling the people of Tudela to report to the police if they see somebody limping with a wound on his foot as that person could be the suspect.
According to Police Major Roland Donor, Tudela chief of police, they were responding to many calls every night of unknown persons knocking on doors, but until now they don’t have a single clue on the identities of the suspects and the motive behind.
“Somebody reported knocking incidents happened in (Barangay) Sinuza, there were reports from (Barangay) Nailon. Aside from Basirang, there were also reports of knockings in (Barangay) Tigdok, it is continuing,” Donor said.
Earlier, teary eyed Paalisbo went to the police to report about several unidentified men who knocked on their door several times at night.
“They stalked on us and even destroyed the wall of our toilet,” Paalisbo said, saying that at that night she was alone with her baby at home.
She told Newsline Philippines theft or robbery is far from being the motive because there were a lot of times that nobody was left at their house, but none of their things were taken away.
Last April 7, the police apprehended two young men with guns, but it turned out they were just watching ducks.
