“The legend lives on.”
Robina Gokongwei-Pe, chairman of Robinsons Retail Holdings, amused Filipinos as she playfully referenced the long-standing urban legend that she has a snake twin who allegedly preyed on women at their flagship mall.
The eldest of the Gokongwei children on Monday, January 27, posted a photo of herself with snake decorations inside a Robinsons mall ahead of the Lunar New Year festivities on January 29.
“Look who finally decided to come out of hiding,” Robina said on a Facebook post.
“My shining, shimmering golden twin (with his pretty in pink girlfriend)!” she quipped, referring to the green and pink snake decors in her picture.
“Here’s to a slitheringly good Year of the Snake!*” the businesswoman exclaimed with emojis of a snake, fireworks, and a party popper.
The Year of the Wood Snake is being celebrated in 2025.
Robina’s post has garnered 15,000 likes, 2,000 shares, and nearly 600 comments, with online users expressing amusement at her witty caption.
“The myth lives on,” an online user wrote with a smiling emoji.
“Hahaha. Nice one, kumare!!” another Facebook user commented.
“Always enjoy your humor!” a different online user exclaimed.
“Finally! You are way too funny. Epic!” another Pinoy wrote with a crying emoji.
“Happy year of the snake! The legend lives on!” a different online user wrote with emojis of a snake and a covered-mouth face.
“This is so funny!!! Nanganak na ‘yung twin mo,” another Pinoy wrote.
“Silly, Auntie! Urban legend is out!!” a Facebook user commented with a laughing-with-tears emoji.
The story behind ‘snake twin’
Robina was referencing the old “snake twin” rumor, which claimed she had a half-human, half-snake twin brother who used Robinsons Galleria as his hunting ground.
Reports said tales of the supposed creature peaked in the 1990s, with rumors suggesting that Gokongwei built Robinsons Galleria specifically as the mutant’s hunting ground.
It was claimed that the snake would prey on women in dressing rooms and abduct children from comfort rooms.
One of the supposed famous victims was actress Alice Dixson, who was said to have encountered the creature.
The actress previously said that her name got involved in the urban legend during a movie shot in the 1980s.
“Production directed me to the bathroom sa labas ng department store on the fourth floor para magpalit ng damit,” she said in 2020.
“Natatandaan ko nga may nag-uusyoso sa labas, and for some reason, while I was inside the bathroom, I said, ‘tuklaw, tuklaw,'” Alice narrated.
“Now, I don’t really know kung bakit ko iyon ginawa. Siguro, kasi, I was just being funny? I was trying to get a laugh sa mga kasamahan ko? I was being young and silly,” the actress said.
Robina, on the other hand, has been addressing the rumors even before.
“Ahas? Naging handbag at sapatos na sa Robinsons!” she joked in an previous interview with SPOT.ph.
Her brother, outgoing Robinsons Land Corporation CEO and president Lance Gokongwei, also had the same quip before when he was asked about it by Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.
“If there would’ve been a snake, my sister Robina would’ve caught it and converted it into a handbag,” Lance joked.
In a 2008 speech, Robina said that the tale first emerged when they opened their second Robinsons Department Store branch in Cebu in 1985.
She said that according to rumors, her “snake twin” was supposed to be the “source” of their wealth as it laid golden eggs.
In the ’90s, Robina denied the rumors in an interview with The Probe Team and said that the claim might have come from a “competitor.”
“Inviting everyone to go there, and nako, if anybody can find that creature, I swear, I’m going to give the entire Galleria to him,” she previously said.
