A 27-year-old construction worker died of electrocution and fell off a roof of a school in Janssen site, Barangay Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City around 1 a.m. yesterday.
Jonathan Palpita, a construction worker who hailed from Barangay Cambuang, Dumanjug town, southern Cebu created a stir among residents after he climbed onto the roof of Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children.
His uncle, Elizalde Ponce Palpita, 56, who was awakened by the noise, went to the area and convinced Jonathan to come down.
“Sige lang Tiyo, uli lang ta ugma (It’s all right uncle, we will go home tomorrow),” Jonathan replied before touching the live electric wire and falling into the ground.
Ruth Baguingon of the Sisters Divine Senior (SDS) said that before the victim lost his last breath, he overheard him saying, “Tabangi ko ninyo mga silingan nangita ra kog trabaho para sa akong pamilya (Please help me, neighbors, I am just looking for a job to support my family).”
Case investigator SPO2 Ruth Bongo-Violango said they have yet to determine the exact cause of Jonathan’s death.
“It’s either he committed suicide or stole something. But no one knows the real reason because nothing was reported missing there,” said Violango.
Violango said there was also a possibility that the victim had no intention to kill himself but he just held on to the wire to balance himself without knowing it was a live electric wire. /USJ-R Interns Danica D. Castro and Vanisa P. Soriano