Mike Enriquez inhales a live tarsier

Broadcaster Mike Enriquez could face criminal charges and a P1 million fine for allegedly harming an endangered species after he accidentally inhaled a live tarsier during a sting operation against illegal smugglers in Bohol province.

The incident occurred on Friday evening when Enriquez, accompanied by a TV crew from his investigative show “Imbestigador,” joined an operation of law enforcers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in a raid of a warehouse in the town of Sagbayan.

Based on reports reaching Good Times Manila, the operatives intercepted a shipment of more than 30 tarsiers from the warehouse where they were being kept in a small cage to be transported to sellers of exotic pets. Endemic to the Philippines, the tarsier, the size of a closed human fist, is one of the smallest primates in the world.

Enriquez, who was advised not to go near the animals, reportedly insisted on getting closer so his cameramen could film them.

But as the tarsiers were being carefully moved, the broadcast journalist crept closer and closer until he was just inches from the little creatures, according to reports.

To everyone’s shock, Enriquez, who was breathing heavily in excitement, suddenly inhaled one of the tarsiers, a pregnant female, which got sucked into his right nostril as though by a vacuum cleaner.

Paramedics and rescue teams on standby tried in vain to extricate the animal, but they could not locate it in the cavernous hole. Doctors in a nearby hospital also said they did not have the right instruments to deal with the emergency.

Fearing that the tarsier is already dead, environment groups are demanding an apology from Enriquez on top of criminal charges and fines. Enriquez has apologized for what happened and said he is open to an investigation.

UPDATE: As this story was being posted, GTM learned that the tarsier is alive and well, and that the charges against Enriquez have been dropped.

“This morning, I felt her move inside my my nasal cavities. She seems very active and healthy,” Enriquez said by phone from his bed in an undisclosed hospital where he is under observation. He also revealed that the 110-gram tarsier had apparently given birth to a baby inside.

“I can feel the patter of its tiny feet,” Enriquez said. To feed the mother and its baby, he said he catches flies, crickets and grasshappers, and flicks them into his nostrils.

He recalled that while being interviewed by provincial media this morning, a tiny head suddenly peeked out of his right nostril for a brief moment before scurrying back inside. “Everyone reacted like, ‘awww, how cute,’” he said.

http://goodtimesmanila.com/

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Gloria Arroyo denies farting in elevator

Note: This is a reposting. Originally published on Jan. 24, 2009.
President Macapagal-Arroyo issued a denial yesterday that she was the one who passed gas inside an elevator with her bodyguards and a small group of journalists at the Manila Hotel, where she attended a luncheon Wednesday.

“That was not me. I categorically deny the allegation,” Ms Arroyo told reporters in an ambush interview but did not elaborate.

In a press conference later in the afternoon, her deputy spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said she could not understand why the media were so interested in the matter.

“It’s obviously not an issue. She has denied it, and that’s that,” she said.

On Wednesday, Ms Arroyo took the elevator of the hotel on the way to the 23rd floor where she was to be honored by a women’s group, Gising Pinay, as their “Filipina of the Year.”

By normal procedure, only the Presidential Security Group members are allowed to accompany her on elevators and other confined spaces but Ms Arroyo, breaking protocol, permitted three journalists, two from TV and one from print, to join her.

On the way up, the unmistakable sound of someone breaking wind suddenly erupted, followed by the instantly recognizable smell.

Per the journalists’ accounts, all eyes were immediately glued to Ms Arroyo, who kept a poker face through it all, making no comment.

The three journalists, Julius Babao from ABS-CBN, Kara David from GMA-7, and Tirso Baraquel from the Inquirer, in separate personal accounts, each said they were not the ones “who did it.”

All three said they were prepared to take a lie detector test to prove their claim.

The PSG, on the other hand, refused to confirm or deny if any one of the six bodyguards who were with Ms Arroyo was at fault.

Black & White Movement leader Leah Navarro quickly called for an investigation. “I think the PSG should make an official statement about this. It’s obvious someone’s trying to hide something.”

“If President Arroyo could lie about something as petty as this, then it just shows she could lie about anything,” Navarro said.

On TV Patrol, Babao said: “In that situation, we really couldn’t say anything. No one among us could speak after that. I think it’s safe to say that everyone suspected her (Ms Arroyo) but no one dared to ask.”

http://goodtimesmanila.com/

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