‘Little Cardo Dalisay’ in Cebu nabbed, accused of hurting people who did not give alms

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Harvey Cuervo, 19, dubbed as the Little Cardo Dalisay in Cebu, went viral once again. But this time, not for the right reasons.

Cuervo is now detained at the Cebu City Police Station after police arrested him on Sunday midnight, March 10, for illegal possession of firearms.

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Prior to his arrest, photos of the young adult circulated on social media when reports that he allegedly hurt passengers who refused to give him money after singing and begging for alms in jeepneys surfaced.

Basak Pardo Captain Dave Tumulak said his office had received multiple complaints since the first week of March, accusing Cuervo of harming them when they did not give him money.

Some of the victims claimed they were scratched, and their feet stomped, Tumulak said.

“Mao nang pasalamat ta nahipos ra sad siya sa mga pulis,” he told CDN Digital in a phone interview.

(We are grateful that he was arrested by the police.)

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The suspect, in a separate interview with reporters, claimed he decided to get a gun as ‘self-defense.’ Since his photos went viral online, he said he began fearing for his life.

The barangay chief also confirmed that Cuervo was the kid who went viral in 2018, earning the nickname ‘Little Cardo Dalisay in Cebu’ when videos of his singing skills inside a jeepney circulated on social media.

Aside from illegal possession of firearms, Cuervo might also face cases for violating the city’s Anti-Mendicancy Law, and for committing slight physical injuries and threats to passengers, Tumulak said.

Officials initially planned to lodge these charges against the suspect before his arrest last Saturday but dropped them after he issued a public apology, through a pre-recorded video, on the internet last March 6.

He also vowed not to hurt passengers anymore.

But just a day after his apology video was published, Tumulak received another series of complaints, alleging that Cuervo broke his promise by hurting jeepney passengers again.

“This time, mu-file na sad mi og separate case against niya,” Tumulak added.

(This time, we will file a separate case against them.)

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In the meantime, the village chieftain urged individuals, who were victimized by Cuervo to come forward so they could build their case against him.

“Pwede ra sila mureach out sa akoa sa Facebook,” said Tumulak.

(They can reach out to me in Facebook.)

He also told the riding public to be always vigilant of their surroundings, and for barangay tanods (village peacekeepers in English) to strengthen their monitoring in areas frequented by beggars.