Roberto Villanueva (not his real name) was rushed to the Unihealth Parañaque Hospital and Medical Center in Sucat, Parañaque at around 3 p.m. on July 20, 2021, for a check-up for the excruciating pain in his lower abdomen. He was placed in a tent across the emergency department. His attending physician suspected that Villanueva was suffering from appendicitis but needed confirmation via a CT scan of the lower abdomen.

Roberto called his grandfather, Joey (not his real name), to ask for P30,000, the minimum amount he would need according to the hospital estimates. Joey went to the hospital posthaste and handed over the borrowed money to his grandson at around 9 p.m. that same day.