Tenyente Gimo

In the gossips and rumors that Tenyente or Lieutenant Gimo is the “gabonan” or the leader of the aswang in the area, is a bare naked lie. Teniente Gimo is not an aswang. He is just a victim of some instances just like the narration in the following stories. 

In 1882, during the incumbency of municipal captain Fabiano Ortiz a terrifying great famine occurred. The dead bodies of the people were just picked up anywhere in town because of starvation. During these times, only Gimo has a good produce of corn (maize). Gimo is too thrifty and has no plan of sharing and giving away his corns without any equivalent payment. Gimo’s corn farm is thick and plenty and came the harvest. Gimo won’t allow the people to benefit from it and because of it, people think of ways to get his corns. They hid a nine-year old kid under the bundle of cornstalks. Darkness falls but the child did not return home. The parents asked for help. That night, they altogether searched for the child. The child was found under the bundle of corn bushels of Gimo’s farm. The rumors had spread that Gimo hid the child and Gimo is an aswang. Gimo disliked this because this will stain his reputation and honor. To stop the rumors that he is an aswang, he told the starving people to stop spreading the words that he is an aswang, and he is ready to give to everyone the corns in his farm fields. The hungry people are relieved and obtained a lot of reserved corns for many days.

However, even if Gimo had given all of his corns to save his reputation, the news had spread enough to extinguish it.  The name Gimo as an aswang was known for more several years.

To scare people of calling Gimo aswang, he was made a tenyente / teniente or lieutenant. After that, he was appointed as tenyente mayor or lieutenant major or second captain. The people discreetly talk about it whispering already that instead of Gimo only, it became Tenyente Gimo as an aswang.

Gimo was said to have a proprietary. People who belongs to the upper class and are well educated will never ever believe that Gimo is an aswang.


Photo Source:

Teniente Gimo ( Ang Aswang Man ay May Hugot Din) Official Youtube Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxk_eIznGwk