2 escaped monkeys create chaos in Cebu town

CEBU CITY – A municipality in Cebu has issued a warning against two escaped monkeys who caused a stir after they escaped from its nature park Wednesday, June 22.

In a public advisory posted on its Facebook page around 8 p.m., the town of Argao warned that two individuals were attacked by the two monkeys after they had escaped from their cages.

“Palayo mo palihug og naa ang unggoy (Please stay away if you see the monkeys),” the advisory said.

At the time that the advisory was issued, the two monkeys were still in the town’s nature park.

In a video footage that has circulated online, one of the monkeys was spotted loitering in the vicinity of the town plaza.

One of them, named “Gibo,” was caught at around 6 a.m. Thursday, June 23, by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) led by night shift supervisor Jeniel Montanez and has been returned to the nature park.

People in the plaza avoided approaching the monkey due to its aggressive stance.

In the latter part of the video, the monkey was captured chasing a passing motorcycle and bit the left leg of the female backrider.

The bleeding woman was given first aid treatment by on-standby medical responders.

According to the town police, the escape of the two monkeys were not reported to the station although there was an advisory that the two monkeys posed harm to the public.

Police Corporal Anthony de Paredes, desk officer of the Argao Police Station, said that as of Thursday morning, June 23, they have yet to receive a report if the two monkeys have already been recaptured.

“It was not in our blotter but we heard about it. No personnel from the park came to our station to seek assistance but we will go to the park and find out the status of the two monkeys,” said De Paredes.

The park, which opened several years ago, is about two kilometers from the town proper. One of the attractions of the park is its mini-zoo that houses different kinds of animals.

“There’s only a few monkeys there. The park was closed due to the pandemic. When it was opened later on, it was closed again due to damage caused by typhoon ‘Odette’ and is undergoing rehabilitation,” De Paredes said.