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(Leonardo Manecio better known as Nardong Putik)
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In October 1944, at which time the archipelago was still under Japanese occupation, a band of robbers intruded in the peaceful backyard of the Manecios. These men were cattle rustlers who were after the carabaos of farmers. Juan lay lifeless after the brigands had left. It was a senseless murder, an act most foul that would embitter, and leave an indelible mark in the mind of, the 21-year-old Leonardo. He tried to forget that painful, sad chapter, wanting to move on to live his own life, but he apparently never did. For it would later turn out that his father's killers were not just mere cattle rustlers; they were, in actuality, members of a guerilla group who had fierce opposition against Juan's political benefactors. What was worse was that the murderers would begin turning their attention to the slain farmer's son who, by now, had started to acquaint himself with the ways of the world. But the wicked scheme never found realization probably due to the crafty and wily movements of Leonardo.



It was around this time when Leonardo must have started to assume the sobriquet originally used by his deceased father. Back when he was still alive, the old man was known as "Juan Putik", the latter word referring to "mud." There were actually other tales that abounded on how the deceased farmer's son came to be known as "Nardong Putik". One is that the area where the family lived was muddy; another is that supposedly Leonardo's skin was dark, similar to the color of mud. The latter tale, however, contradicted the later images of Leonardo that would grace the newspaper pages. This Dasmariñas lad appeared to have a fair skin and sported a strikingly handsome appearance enough to draw female notice, if not admiration. Adding to his persona was Leonardo's physique which, again, would easily generate awe from the fairer sex. Later photos of the man would also show the existence of tattoos on his bare torso, the most prominent of which was the one reading "KILABOT" ("TERROR") across his lower abdomen.


After the war, Nardong Putik (or Muddy Leonard as the foreign press would later refer to him), just like his old man, ingratiated himself with his father's political patrons, the powerful clique of Carungcong, Mangubat and Barzaga clans.


Sometime in 1945, with a Carungcong occupying the mayoral post of the town, Nardong Putik was appointed as a member of the Dasmariñas police force. But no sooner had he made his presence felt in the ranks than the Carungcong mayor was ousted from his post. This was due to the assumption of office of Cavite's new governor who was a fierce opponent of the political troika of the Carungcongs, Mangubats and Barzagas. Though dismissed from service by the new anti-Carungcong mayor, Nardong Putik was, however, able to find new work as a bus driver.

But he never was full time in his new calling.


As he himself would later admit, his lawless career began just after the death of his father. While he thus performed his police chore, and later, his bus chauffeur task, Nardong Putik was surreptitiously engaged in a plethora of felonious activities which in included kidnapping, robbery in band and murder when necessary. Nardong Putik was now living up to his "KILABOT" status, drawing attention from, and earning the ire, of the law enforcement agents.


In March 1947, Nardong Putik was arrested by the Philippine Constabulary. Of the cases filed against him, only the charge of illegal possession of firearms was found by the court as amply supported by evidence, resulting in his conviction and imprisonment to serve a six-month sentence in Muntinlupa. Upon his release in 1948, Nardong Putik returned to his hometown. While there, he found himself constantly harassed by the political opponents of the Carungcongs, forcing him to flee the province and work on the fishing fleet of the Mangubats in Manila Bay. Two years after, Nardong Putik went back to Cavite where he was tried in court for committing robbery in band. Found guilty, he was sentenced to suffer jail time for eighteen months in Muntinlupa.
 

Just months before the November 1951 elections, Nardong Putik "escaped" from Muntinlupa. As to how he did this was never exactly determined. In like manner, it was also never exactly known just where did he proceed afterwards, nor what endeavors he busied himself with. Suspicions pointed to the fact that Nardong Putik might have gravitated to the political sphere of Senator <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3229/today-in-filipino-history-september-5-1905-justiniano-montano-sr-was-born-in-santa-cruz-de-malabon-cavite" class="news_link">Justiniano Montano, Sr.</a>, who was then a close ally of Nardong Putik's patrons, the Carungcongs and Manubats.


Then came the occurrence of a heinous crime, the so-called "Maragondon Massacre" that shook the corners of the archipelago. It happened sometime in September, 1952, when the mayor of Maragondon, a far-flung town in the province, was kidnapped. The denouement was horrendous: the mayor, the town's police chief and two of the latter's men were found fatally stabbed. The authorities wasted no time in investigating the gruesome crime. Charges were immediately filed against the suspects, which included the senator, the vice mayor and two councilors of Maragondon and several henchmen of Montano. Here, the earlier suspicions were confirmed - Nardong Putik indeed had become a henchman of Montano and had participated in the massacre. During the trial, Nardong Putik, yielding to pressure, confessed his guilt (and in the process, absolved his patron, Senator Montano, of any involvement in the crime). He was thus convicted and hauled back to prison. As for the senator, well, he was discharged from the case for supposed lack of evidence.


It was not until July 1955, when Nardong Putik would surface in the news again. Around this time, Cavite's governor was a Mangubat, a member of Nardong Putik's political patrons. The now infamous Cavite outlaw was serving time in the province's stockade in Imus town when, for want of reasonable explanation, he made another daring "escape" from his jailers. Suspicions flew that supposedly the feared criminal was aided by military officers who were reporting to the governor. It was further theorized that, just like what happened back in September 1951 (which was months before the elections), Nardong Putik was deliberately freed to help the Mangubats and Carungcongs in the coming November 1955 elections. But after the polls, Nardong Putik ironically found himself on the run after Cavite's new governor, a son of Montano, refused to accord the escaped felon protection from arrest which Nardong Putik had theretofore been enjoying.


It was at this phase in Nardong Putik's life when he began to build his own Sicilian-type rule, an outlaw sovereign with a number of towns in Cavite as his domain. Under his command were his relatives and gangs who constituted his force. Central to his mafia-styled establishment was the "protection racket" where owners of large estates, tenants or farmers were given "protection" in exchange of "fees" to be paid to Nardong Putik. Those who refused to cooperate were dealt with rigorously by Nardong Putik's men.


It would appear that there was a prevailing acceptance to Nardong Putik's underworld rule. Where before cattle rustling was rampant in the towns of Dasmariñas, Gen. Trias and Imus which left the tenants and farmers helpless, it was reported that under the new "government" of Nardong Putik, no such robberies and thefts of cattle ever occurred anymore. This was something which the province's law enforcement agencies were unable to achieve. Most appreciative of this state of affairs were the lowly sharecroppers who were defenseless against the cattle rustlers; they thus voluntarily paid Nardong Putik out of their share of the harvest. It was in this sense that this prominent underworld figure became a Robin Hood of sorts - the protector of the oppressed against their oppressors.

The story of Leonardo Manecio better known as Nardong Putik