Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas

Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas (Filipino for The Mystery of Dueñas) is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The arc lasted for 52 strips and appeared in the first quarter of 1992. In 1993, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 4, the fourth book compilation of the comic strip series.

Synopsis

The Pugad Baboy residents go off on vacation to Dueñas in Iloilo. There, Bab introduces them to their host, Mang Danilo, a faith healer who had once cured Bab off his dependence on drugs. One night during the holiday, supernatural beings make a determined siege upon the house occupied by the Pugad Baboy gang. Polgas comes to the rescue in the guise of Growlsbuster, a parody of Ghostbusters. Using garlic Growlsbuster repels the attack.

In the confusion of the attack Pao is taken captive, his captors mistaking him for a pregnant woman. Deciding that it is beyond Growlsbuster's skills to mount a rescue attempt, Polgas takes on his Wisedog persona. As Wisedog, he disguises himself further to resemble a werewolf, becoming Weredog and infiltrating the werewolves' lair in the mountains. Here he discovers that Devlino, the king of the supernatural beings, intends to sacrifice Pao at the stroke of midnight and that the "fetus" in his "womb" will become the main ingredient for the batchoy the werewolves are preparing.

Polgas recruits the Pugad Baboy residents in order to rescue Pao. They go to confession and make weapons, using barbecue sticks and silverware as ammunition. Polgas refills his "garapata gun" with holy water from the church font. Eight minutes before midnight, the rescue squad attack the supernatural beings' lair. Every demon and werewolf hit by stick and silverware disappears into smoky nothingness, while to the demons' surprise, the Pugad Baboy gang seem unaffected by claw or fang. Four minutes to midnight, Devlino runs away with Pao; Polgas gives chase but is temporarily delayed by zombies blocking his way. Using the jawbone of a horse as a boomerang, Polgas destroys the sacrificial knife wielded by Devlino, who unmasked, turns out to be no other than their host, Mang Danilo.

Lady Lucy (Lucifer) appears, revealing that he/she is the source of Devlino/Danilo's power. As punishment for his failure as the king of evil in Iloilo, Lady Lucy turns him into a poisonous mushroom. Lady Lucy then disappears. The Pugad Baboy residents then return to Dueñas, having successfully rescued Pao.

Miscellaneous trivia
  • Count von Count is seen counting the five hairs Pao pulls from his armpit
  • Darna's nemesis Valentina makes an appearance among the numerous ghouls who invade the hut.
  • Dagul being served with the medicinal herbal tea "pitu-pito" is actually a play on words. The waiter serves him the drink instead of the cocktail drink "Seventy-seven" ("pito" is Filipino for "seven").
  • The fourth wall is broken. An unseen narrator mentions that Wisedog follows the scent of Pao's perfume and marks the trees along his path. Wisedog attempts to mark the nearest tree in true canine fashion by lifting a hind leg and spraying it with urine. The narrator has to clear his throat twice to grab Wisedog's attention so the agent can mark the nearest tree by chalking an x-mark on the tree.
  • The "sacred cloth" that Mang Danilo uses to rescue Polgas from the werewolves is a piece of cloth emblazoned with the words "DANDING FOR THE COUNTRY!!!". Danding is the nickname of Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., a crony of former president Ferdinand Marcos during the Martial Law era.
  • Fido Dido can be seen among the zombies that block Wisedog from pursuing Devlino.
  • Mang Pekto, Lady Lucy, and Mang Danilo will return for "Ang Punyal Ni Devlino", a story arc published on Rappler.
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