KMJS has the backstory on the Orconuma Meteorite recently added to the National Museum's geological collection

Earlier this week, the National Museum made headlines after it announced a new addition to its National Geological and Paleontological Collections: The Orconuma Meteorite, which fell on March 7, 2011 in Orconuma, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro.

The 160.17-gram specimen is the first meteorite to be part of the collections, and according to the museum's social media announcement, it was found by three farmers, Fredo Manzano, Edgar Francisco Sr., and Enrico Camacho, Jr., who first hid and stored the specimen for nine long years.

But did you know "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho" had already featured the farmers and the rock they found in a middle of the field — and twice at that?

In a 2019 episode, Manzano, Francisco, and Camacho shared with KMJS how they came to discover the meteorite.

"Nagkasibak ako ng kahoy, nakarinig ako ng lagabog," Francisco told the award-winning program.

He asked his companion if it was thunder. "Umuga talaga yung lupa," he added.

Manzano meanwhile said he heard six consecutive bombing sounds. "Nakita namin, lumilipad siyang ganun, nagbabaga," he recalled.

Camacho also thought it was a bomb and quickly made his way home. "Makauwi na, baka wakas na ng mundo," he told KMJS back in 2019.

In the field, they discovered a hole three-feet deep, and after shoveling, found a black rock. "Nabanggit ko pa nga sa kanila, 'baka alien ito'," Camacho continued.

The rock measured 6 inches in height and 9 inches in width, and weighed some eight kilos — two kilos more than a bigger rock.

KMJS narrated how the rock affected the farmers: How they got scared that they decided to to bury it underground, how they overcame their fear and learned to live with it stored in the bottom of their closet; how they saw a video online that piqued their curiosity and made them consider the possibility they had a meteorite in their possession; how they began to wonder about striking rich.

The KMJS team got hold of the content creator, who made the video that the three farmers watched and consulted him. Abraham Catiis, the content creator, turned out to be a rock and mineral collector, and in the KMJS episode, tested the rock the befell the three farmers to see it it was indeed a meteorite.

In his four-part test, the farmers' rock only scored 50%.

But in an April 2022 episode, KMJS followed up on the farmers and confirmed it was indeed a meteorite that befell them.

In the followup episode, the farmers recalled how a middleman approached and offered to buy the rock, how they agreed to send a specimen of the rock abroad to get it tested, and how the test confirmed it was indeed a meteorite but of a low quality.

The farmers were offered P580,000 for the rock, which, after all the expenses, only netted each of them a measely P58,000.

In the 2022 episode, the farmers told KMJS they agreed to the price even if it was lower than their initial expectations; they were greatly affected by the pandemic and any extra income would be most welcome.

Soon, they learned that the rock they found in 2011 was officially listed by the Meteoritical Society as only the 6th meteorite found in the Philippines.

While the farmers tried to look for the middleman to try and wiggle in a bit more money, it was the KMJS team who successfully connected with the buyer: An American named John Higgins living in New Jersey.

In the April 2022 episode, John told KMJS his plans of donating the Orconuma meteorite to the National Museum. "It's an honor for me to be part of this story because my wife is Filipino, my son is Filipino," Higgens said.

Three months later, the meteorite is home in the museum. — LA, GMA News