A grief-stricken Gilberto Cejas views the coffin of his eldest son who hanged himself in an abandoned house near his residence in Alcoy town. Arnel Verola posted his suicide note on his FB account before taking his own life..
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO
Another young adult took his own life after posting his suicide note on his Facebook page.
Arnel Verola just turned 22 last June 26. He was found by his mother, hanging by the neck, using an electrical wire tied to the trusses of an abandoned house across their residence in Barangay Atabay, Alcoy, Cebu, at around 4 p.m. last Thursday.
His brother Ryan James Cejas said his older brother had a rift with his girlfriend.
The eldest of five, Arnel, who carried the family name Verola as his parents were not yet married when he was baptized, took to Facebook before hanging himself using an electrical wire.
Some relatives became worried when they saw Arnel’s alarming post on his Facebook account at 2:16 p.m. last Thursday.
The post was addressed to “my family, my friends and my baby.”
The “my baby” referred to a 21-year-old woman, who was Arnel’s girlfriend for at least three years.
In the post, Arnel reminded his girlfriend to remain happy even if he would no longer be around. He also told her how much he loved her.
Apparently referring to his plan of committing suicide, Arnel sought forgiveness for something he was about to do.
He also pleaded with his family not to blame his girlfriend if something bad would happen to him.
Alarmed by the Facebook post, Arnel’s mother and some relatives started looking for him and later found him in an abandoned house, about three meters from the house of the Cejas.
Neighbors untied the victim and rushed him to the town’s health center where he was declared dead.
Facebook post
His Facebook post at 2:16 p.m., before he took his own life, quickly got comments from his friends. Including his girlfriend, asking him why he posted the message.
The post circulated on FB got 506 reactions, 711 comments, and 237 shares.
One of the comments of the post suggested that he attempted to take his life before this incident happened.
Before his farewell post, Arnel tagged his girlfriend on a post made at 11:31 a.m.
“Yung feeling na pilit mong tinatago na di ka affected. Pero ang totoo selos na selos ka na… #hibaby” his post read.
(That feeling when you’re forcing to hide that you’re not affected, but in reality you’re really jealous.)
The suicide was allegedly prompted by a misunderstanding he had with his girlfriend.
The girlfriend of the victim was bashed shortly after the incident, with posts blaming her for what had happened.
“Wala mo kabalo sa rason nganu nabuhat na niya? Pareha ta wala pod ko kabalo. Bi daw, asa ko dapita mabasol ani? Tungod ba kai akoy uyab?” she responded in one of the comments.
(You don’t know the reason behind why he did that? I don’t know either. Tell me, why am I to be blamed? Is it because I’m his girlfriend?)
She also suggested in her other responses to comments, that Verola had attempted to take his life at least 20 times already.
“Lahi ang iyang desisyon, di kai karon rana niya buhata. Kabaw ba ka? Halos ka baynte nana ka beses niya gibuhat,” she commented.
(His decision is different, this is not the first time he has done this. You know what? He attempted to commit suicide for almost twenty times already.)
Copycat suicide?
If Verola had actually seen the suicide video streamed online of another young adult who posted live on her Facebook account, it is possible that Verola’s death could be a copycat suicide.
“We could say, kay possible na-trigger sa kadtong usa ka incident. Naay possible impact but we do not know if nakakita ba to siya or nakabasa lang on social media,” said Erika Datan, assistant mental health program coordinator of the Department of Health (DOH-7).
Datan said there is a need to raise awareness on mental health, saying many in this generation have very low pain threshold and tolerance.
“That’s why all they can think is immediate gratification dayon which is suicide,” Datan added.
Arnel’s family
Arnel stopped schooling but was supposed to re-enroll in October as a fourth year electronics student.
The victim’s 50-year-old father Gilberto, who was at work when the incident happened, said his son was the type of person who kept his problems to himself.
Gilberto is a construction worker.
Ryan James said his brother loved his girlfriend so much that he already wanted to marry her.
In fact, the victim bought a “couple’s shirt” to show how he wanted to settle down with his girlfriend.
“That’s his favorite shirt,” said Ryan James, pointing to his brother’s body clad in a white shirt with the words “would you marry me?” printed on it.
The other pair of the couple’s shirt with a printed word “yes” was given to Arnel’s girlfriend.
According to a relative, Arnel became moody when his girlfriend’s parents turned down his offer to marry their daughter.
“After his birthday last June 26, he told his mother that he was already planning for a marriage,” the relative said.
Arnel’s mother went to see the woman’s mother but was told they wanted their daughter to finish her studies first.
“Since then, Arnel would often spend time alone and he didn’t share what was bothering him,” the relative said.
Ryan James said that after the suicide, the woman texted him, admitting that she broke up with Arnel.
“But she didn’t expect that my brother would resort to committing suicide. She even tried calling him after reading his post but my brother turned off his phone,” said Ryan James, 16.
Ryan James said that with the tragic incident, he and his two other brothers were advised by their mother to be wise when falling in love.
“We were told that it should be 50-50. Prepare to get hurt when you fall in love but don’t harm yourself because there’s not only one woman in the world. Don’t get carried away,” said Ryan James, while gently tapping his left chest.