Mactan bridge suicides spur steps to repair gear

Barangay tanods may be tapped to monitor the Marcelo Fernan bridge at night as a deterrent to suicide attempts. (CDN FILE PHOTO)

On the eve of Nov. 22, an unidentified woman  in her thirties made her way to  the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge alone.

She climbed the railing, stood on the edge of the bridge, then disappeared.

Excerpts of security camera footage of scenes shortly  before the suicide leap were viewed yesterday by the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) at the Capitol.

Cameras installed under the bridge showed the woman crashing on the concrete surface under the Fernan bridge in sitio San Roque, barangay Pusok in Lapu-Lapu City.

The board was reviewing  security and monitoring measures in both bridges linking Mandaue and Mactan.

To help prevent future suicide incidents which have occured in both bridges over the years, the board agreed to repair defective paging systems and 13 damaged closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) in the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge and the Marcelo Fernan Bridge to allow closer monitoring of activities in both structures.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, board chairman,  said the repairs were “very urgent.” He  instructed staff in the traffic and security monitoring system (TSMS)  to pursue the improvements “as soon as possible.”

Determined

If people are loitering on the bridge, their attention should be called over the paging system, he said.

“This is very urgent not just to address the suicides but also groups who stay there at night and loiter. With the paging system, we can call their attention especially those who are thinking of  jumping,” said Davide.

“Sometimes we cannot stop these people who are very determined to end their lives but we will try our best to deter these incidents,” he added.

No security guards are assigned at the bridges.

Activities there are monitored through security cameras. The command center is located at the foot of the bridge in barangay Pusok.

Out of the 40 security cameras in the two bridges, eight need repairs while five are not receiving power due to a glitch in the electrical wiring, said Leo Bacus, officer-in-charge of the traffic and security monitoring system.

The amplifiers in the paging systems are  defective and will cost P270,000  to complete the repairs, Bacus reported.

MCBMB vice chairman Pericles Dakay proposed to  tap tanods from the barangays near the vicinity to inspect the bridges at night.

Dakay said the bridge board can save on expenses since it cost them P2.4 million a year to deploy trained guards at the bridges.