How the bullet became an 'anting-anting'

Amid the furor over the alleged "laglag bala" scheme causing a scare among air passengers, authorities have pointed to the folk custom of using bullets as amulet or "anting-anting" as a reason for some arrests.

In Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is already looking into possibilities that bullets allegedly found in airline passengers' bags are mere amulets.

“There have been reports [about that] so that is being looked into as well,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters in a media briefing.

At a press conference on Monday in Camp Crame, no less than Supt. Jeanne Panisan of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP AvSec) said passengers sometimes carry bullets as amulets.

Dr. Nestor Castro, chairman of UP's Department of Anthropology, said the use of bullets as amulets originated during the American occupation of the Philippines. He said historical records point towards Macabebe Scouts using silver bullets as amulets, a possible American influence as silver bullets are used to combat werewolves in American folklore.

"Ang pinakamaagang dokumento ay panahon na ng mga Amerikano sa hanay ng mga Macabebe Scouts. Merong documented case na ginagamit nila na bala na silver. Bakit panahon na ng mga Amerikano? Siguro may impluwensiya na rin ng American folklore, yung silver bullets na pangontra sa werewolf," he said.

Bullet casings are usually blessed with spells or prayers to safeguard the owner from witchcraft, monsters, and persons with ill-intention.

Castro added that live ammunition was plentiful and readily available for public consumption in Cavite during the heyday of Filipino gangster turned folklore hero Nardong Putik.

In modern times, he said bullets were used as lucky charms rather than protective amulets. But the beliefs persist to this day.

In Malolos, Bulacan, faith healer Ka Cezar Boy Lim from Brgy. Caingin makes a living enchanting bullets, which he claims renders him and his customers immune to bullets.

Lim told GMA News stringer Rommel Ramos that, with the right enchantment, the bullet could protect him from misfortune, evil spirits, stabbings, and immoral persons.

He said misfortune clung on to the copper found in bullets, while a spelled candle replaced gunpowder in the shell to serve as a barrier.

Too many for laglag bala

But Castor thinks the high number of people apprehended at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this year for carrying bullets could not be attributed to the Filipinos' belief in bullets as amulets or lucky charms.

The 107 recorded cases of arrest due to bullet possession at the NAIA this year were too many for all of it to be attributed to the superstition surrounding the possession of bullets.

"Kahit ako mismo, hindi ako maniniwalang ganung karaming tao ang naniniwala dito bilang anting-anting. Mas kilala ito sa liblib na lugar kesa pa sa airport or sa urban areas," Castro said. —Sandra Aguinaldo and Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News