Mandaue police probe death of nursing student inside school campus

Emergency responders of the Mandaue City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office are among the first to respond to the school where a student died after he fell from the school’s upper floors. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) continues to investigate the cause of the death of the 19-year-old male nursing student inside one of the schools in the city. The incident happened at past 9 a.m. today, Oct. 17.

Police Major John Libres, chief of the Opao Police Station, said they had yet to determine if the student jumped or fell from the building’s 10th floor. 

Libres said that the school’s doctor tried to revive the student but the doctor failed to revive him.

He said there was a possibility that the death of the student was an apparent suicide, but they had yet to verify and further investigate the case.

Libres also said that aside from this possibility, they were also investigating all angles that could have caused the student’s death.

Second nursing student death in 3 days

This is the second death of a nursing student of the school in a matter of three days.

On Satuday dawn, Oct. 15, a female nursing student, who studied in the same school, was shot dead in Barangay Ibo, Lapu-Lapu City as she tried to help chase and apprehend a fleeing suspected thief, who tried to steal things inside the student’s rented room.

She was killed after she tried to grab the suspected thief, who eluded her grasp and shot her instead.

Libres, however, said that the incident was not related to that robbery incident in Lapu-Lapu City where the female nursing student was killed.

In today’s tragic incident, police were studying the available CCTV footage that could help them in their investigation.

However, Libres said the available CCTV footage only covered the 7th to 9th floors. 

He said that the student, based on the copy of the CCTV footage from the second floor, was seen walking alone going to the 10th floor.

There were no CCTV cameras on the 10th floor.

Libres said that the student arrived in his room at around 8:30 a.m., and he and his fellow students were answering something online at that time, but minutes after that, he got out of the room.

Libres also dismissed speculations that the student from a northern Cebu town got zero in an exam.

Quoting his family and friends, Libres said the student was very competitive and was doing well in school.

His family and friends also told police that the student had not talked to them about his problems.

Libres is also reminding parents to always talk to their children.

Mandaue school’s measures

The student affairs director of the school, for his part, said that they were shocked with the incident.

He also said that at there was supposedly someone to monitor the area going to the upper floors but, unfortunately, at that time of the incident, no one was there to monitor the area.

“Kalit kaayo. Kami ang eskwelahan na shock gyud sa nahitabo human sa amoang preparasyun, tanan — health and safety measures, emergency and standard namo. Subo gyud nga kalit kaayo sa tanan, ang university na shock sa maong panghitabo,” he said.

(It was so sudden. We in school are so shocked at what happened after our preparations, all of it — health and safety measures, emergency and our standard measures. It is so sad that all of it was so sudden, the university is so shocked at what happened.)

“There would be a re-assessment sa atoang (in our) emergency precautionary measures,” he said.

The school’s student affairs director also said that they had already called for a meeting with the different agencies in the city including the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and Philippine National Police.

He also said that the parents of the student were immediately informed about the incident.

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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.

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