The Waway Effect: Why Cebuanos are Scared of Warlito Toledo

I went home tonight to an almost-empty street near our house. The eskinita which was usually loud and noisy was lifeless and very quiet. The kids who usually fill the night air with their rants about which Zaido was the strongest, were nowhere in sight. “This is odd”, I thought to myself.

The answer came to me when I saw the poster neatly taped on the wall of a neighbor’s house.

WANTED. It said.




The photo was that of the infamous WAWAY!

Waway is probably the most talked about person on the island right now. Whether he is real or not, a mention of his name gets everyone interested and wide-eyed.

Is he a real serial killer?

Is his story just an urban legend?

Is he really out to kill all pregnant women just for the heck of it?

These questions continue to circulate around town. And each time his story is retold, a certain part is edited out, phrased incorrectly, or completely ‘enhanced’ to make the story more compelling and shocking.

According to the most popular version I heard, Warlito Toledo alias Waway was a convicted rapist back in 2002. He was sent to prison but he managed to escape. People say that this was because the cops allowed him to go out at night, enter houses that interest him, and kill everyone inside. It is said that he especially liked to target pregnant women. If entry is impossible, it is said that Waway would spit on the slippers of the people who live in the house and come back at an opportune time to finish his task. Despite a foolproof manhunt, it is said that the police couldn’t catch Waway because of his talisman which enables him to change his hairstyle at will and prevent detection.

People looking at a Waway Poster.

Before the actual wanted posters were distributed, many people thought that Waway was just a product of an imaginative mind. But now that these posters are all over the island, even the tough habal-habal drivers head home when the sun sets, their slippers tucked safely inside, for fear of a possible encounter.

Indeed, the pandemonium caused by Waway has made him not just a wanted convict, but also the modern-day ‘Boogeyman’.




Warlito Toledo

Have you seen him?

53 thoughts on “The Waway Effect: Why Cebuanos are Scared of Warlito Toledo

  1. Evil people will go to hell! My brother’s killer still not captured & it happened in 1979! Because the evil man hides from one province to another, look who’s a coward! In the western world, bad guys are captured in no time because they have a network that really works! U.S. criminals will run to Canada or vise versa; or they run to other countries. The modern tech nowadays makes it easier to find them. Good riddance!

  2. produkto man ni sa radyo baba! hehehe.. here is what i heard from the media interviews of police officials;

    Warlito Toledo really exists. He has ONLY ONE standing warrant of arrest for ALLEDGED rape (he has not been convicted nor his case has been tried) at Danao City. there were people believed to be family of Waway’s victim who went to Danao City police office and asked for Waway’s picture. they were suspected to be behind the printing and posting of the posters.

    contrary to the rumors, there are no accounts of serial rape cases against pregnant women, nor accounts of serial killings in any police blotter in any police station in Cebu.

  3. this jst shows how police here in the philippines is really slow…its been days still they haven’t found that criminal..what are they waiting for?many people to shed blood..

  4. is this really true? i wonder. i doubt. i’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about him which give me the creeps.. a lot of people haev already been afraid of him. i hope that what the others have told me about his amulet isn’t true — the rituals that he had undergone to gain his said “powers”.. and i also hope that he will be captured ASAP! am worried about people going nuts with this story! LOL! thanks for posting this! Ü

  5. sa laing bahin nakatabang na sa mga bata nga dili na mag stand by sa gawas kn gabii na.pero hinaut nga dili pod unta na tinood kay akong anak dili na gyud mosogot sogoon kung gabii na kay naa kuno si waway hehehe!

  6. waway!!!!!!!pagroch mo wui!!!!!keep 8 up waway….idle taka….WALA KANG KATULAD WAWAY…..mahimo ka snake….?? ako mahimo og earthworm…hehehehe…….hala waway pasi-aw pa ha…..

  7. CPPO Director Carmelo Valmoria said the stories are just “making mountains out of molehills” and that the reports about Warlito “Waway” Toledo were exaggerated.

    Toledo has a pending warrant of arrest for a rape case. He was also reportedly tagged for a murder case but no evidence was gathered against him.

    Reports first circulated in Danao City that Toledo would enter houses and pick his targets.

    The rumors were fueled after a local daily (not Sun.Star Cebu) published a report about Toledo being a “serial killer.” Similar reports were also picked up

    Valmoria said there is a P10,000 reward for Toledo’s capture, provided by Danao City Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano III.

    pero layo ra ni ARistotle “ares” EVES.. :P250,000 pesos reward hitman sa alpha kappa rho… asa man ta mahadlok kuno beh?

  8. kung kahadlokan ni c Waway, nganu gamay raman ang pabuya 10,000..hehhehehe,,

    . . i heard the story of waway one month before the news got on the line from my officemates from danao. the story had circulated in the north where this waway would knocked on the door anytime and do his thing ( rape, murder, rob..or the likes). his fave victims are those alone in the house and paticularly woman.

    . . .it really give me a creeps…hehhehe…hope madakpan na xa….cge najud ko panirado sa house bisan hayag pang daku…

  9. Si waway nakit-an sa among silingan, tungod sa pagtago-tago wala kaantos sa kagutom, nangawat ug Dukot dala na hasta ang kaldero. Ug tungod sa kauhaw gipatimbang sa Carlock para kono dunay sapi para ipalit ug softdrink. hehehe (joke lang)

  10. The same serial killer here in Manila, with their character and behaviour. hey are hunting down people in the areas of Binangonan, Cainta, Pasig, and Marikina. People there were believing he might exists everywhere. May god keep us alive. Keep on Praying, and god will protect you from evil.

    Thanks,

  11. what i’ve known waway is already in r.i.p so to all people make fun of this guy i think u should stop it ur just making a horror out of yourself…..and it show how nymph is your mind although he is a criminal according to our law…still u dont know wats the reasons why he became a criminal…..so don’t be a judgmental person….there’s a reasons behind of it….

  12. Mga brad and sis, musta naman mong tanan dha? Miss you all. Ayaw mo kabalaka nako, naa gihapon ko sa inyong portahan taga gabie, manuktok lng unya ko og luwaan nako inyong tsinelas kung di ko kasud sa inyong panimalay. Amping og ayaw kalimti akong snacks kung mo bisita ko. Love u all.

  13. there’s a rumour here in negros occidental especially in bacolod that police cooperative notice some vicious desapearance of people in mall area despite of that rumour still there are plenty of people who still visits mall area like SM,Gaisano, and Robinson!
    Other sayings was some employees would disapear inside there job premises for several days.

  14. hes not the real waway…i was only 7 years old when i first heard that name and they say his a murderer and a thief somewhere here in mindanao now im 33 waway is dead long time ago mga piskata mo

  15. I know him and i’m not gonna tell where he is.. He is a nice guy, but recently he got addicted to shabu.

  16. ang angayan kahadlokan ang GOD ky anytime gusto nya kuhaon atong kinabuhe mahimu dayon ni God so ayaw mo padala sa kahadlok besan kinsang tawo nga kreminal aning kalibotana si God ra ang angayan n2 kahadlokan Amen ba?

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