Searching for lost P1 coin, drunk man torches P100 bill

BUTUAN CITY - A man in a remote village here was beaten up by his drinking buddy the other night for lighting up a crisp P100 bill to serve as torch in the search for a P1 coin one of them had dropped in a grassy area.

A drunk and profligate Rudy Tagis-Tagis, 37, was punched by Reynaldo "Sky" Langit, 42, both of Barangay Manila de Bugabos here last Friday night in sitio Sta. Cruz for burning currency valued at 100 times more than what they were looking for.

Langit said Tagis-Tagis, after winning in a local gambling game known as "hantak" or cara y cruz, went to a local store to buy some cigarettes when he accidentally dropped the peso coin. 

But when Tagis-Tagis’ request for a piece of paper or a kerosene lamp from the store owners went unheeded, he pulled out a P100 bill from his pocket which he proceeded to torch with his lighter so that he could search for the coin.

This irked an also quite tipsy Langit, who thought the gesture arrogant. 

"Langit immediately accosted Tagis-Tagis but since the latter was drunk, he (Tagis-Tagis) did not mind Langit, which maybe further irked Langit who then mauled his drinking buddy," Daryl Madelo, also a Manila de Bugabos resident and an eyewitness, said.

The STAR tried to contact Tagis-Tagis and Langit for comment but their wives and children said both had fallen asleep after another heavy drinking bout.

Their families claimed the two are still the closest of friends that after the incident, the two buddies decided to finish more rounds of tuba (local coconut wine). It was later learned that the two are actually relatives.

Tagis-Tagis suffered a black eye and some bruises as a result of the incident, but ir was not recorded at the barangay hall since both parties said it was merely a minor difference between two consenting but very drunk adults.