Police says no foul play found in VSMMC incident

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Police found no foul play in the incident at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, wherein a patient leaped to death from the third floor of the building.

The patient (name withheld), a 48-year-old male from Tres de Abril, Labangon, jumped off the third floor of the North District Del Mar Building, where he was kept in isolation together with other COVID-19 patients.

Read: COVID-19 patient dies after jumping from hospital window

Police Senior Master Sergeant Lydio Libres Jr., lead investigator of the said incident, told CDN Digital through a phone interview that this was a clear case of suicide.

“Di nato ma ingon nga naa ni foul play gyud kay kita man gyud ang katong guardia sa pag guba palang sa bintana,” said Libres.

(We can’t say there was foul play because the guard of the said building who is the witness saw that the patient was breaking the window intentionally.)

He also stated that Manuel P. Osorno, the guard and the witness to the incident, told the authorities that there were some other patients inside the room but none was able to stop the patient from jumping off.

“Kalit kaayo ang pagpanghitabo, maoy ingon sa guardia. Wa man mi maka saka na didto kay lage para sa safety sad kay covid patients raba to, apan nakita nga gi bu-ak niya ang bildo, nga duda namo gi sumbag or gi gamitan og bug-at nga butang unya ni layat na largo,” added Libres.

(Everything happened so fast, according to the guard, We were not able to go to the room since it is an isolation facility for COVID patients. But we think that he was able to break the glass window using force or with something heavy and then jumped off the second he had successfully broken the window.)

Libres said they are waiting for the officials of VSMMC  if they will be needing extra hands in ensuring the safety of the patients under their care. /bmjo

** Those facing huge personal problems or experiencing extreme sadness can reach out to and call Tawag Paglaum Centro Bisaya if they need someone to talk to.

Tawag Paglaum Centro Bisaya is a 24/7 call-based hotline for suicide prevention and emotional crisis intervention established in Cebu. Anyone in Central Visayas experiencing a mental disorder relapse or suicidal thoughts may reach the hotline at 0939-936-5433 or 0927-654-1629.