A teenager’s story on why he almost jumped the billboard

Hungry teen roamed Cebu streets for four days with P300

A man climbs atop a SMART billboard on Gen. MAxilom Avenue, Cebu City past 8 p.m. He was coaxed to come down by about 10 pm by Cebu City VIce Mayor Edgardo Labella. (CDN PHOTO/ CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

The young man who almost jumped off a billboard Friday night had  roamed Metro Cebu for four  days without a place to sleep or  a full meal.

The Mindanao teenager arrived in Cebu City last July 13 by boat  from Butuan City with P300 in his pocket.

“Sa kalsada ra ko nagpuyo. Nangita rako sa akong papa nga naa karon sa Camotes  (I lived on the streets. I came here to look for my father who lives in Camotes island),”   said the youth after spending the night in the Cebu City Medical Center for examination.

He was declared “mentally stable” by Dr. Jose Coruña of the hospital’s psychiatric ward yesterday. The doctor said hunger can make the mind play tricks on you, including planting thoughts of suicide.

“The patient told me he went blank and found himself on top of the billboard,” said Coruña.  The doctor said the youth was cleared for discharge yesterday.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella visited the 18-year-old at the hospital yesterday  to check on him after the night’s commotion caused by the teenager’s climb up a nine-story-high SMART billboard on General Maxilom Avenue past 8 p.m. Friday.

READ: Vice Mayor Labella persuades man to climb down the billboard

Labella’s pleas on a megaphone eventually led the young man to voluntarily climb down about 10 p.m. He was whisked off to the hospital and given food.

The teenager told Cebu Daily News it was his first trip  to Cebu.    He wanted to go to Camotes Island in northeast Cebu to find his biological father, but ended up getting lost, going back and forth between the cities of Mandaue and Talisay, until his money ran out.

The young man said he lived with his mother in Mindanao, but left home because he kept having fights with his stepfather.

Roaming around Metro Cebu was a test of survival. He said he slept on the roadsides with other street dwellers, and relied on drinking water to ease hunger pangs.

To bathe, he would go to the South Road Properties for a quick swim in the sea.

He said he went to a police station for help, asking how to get free boat passage home.  He was referred instead to the Coast Guard and then to the Department of Social Welfare And Development.

He came out empty-handed.

“Puslan man lang nga wa na jud mutabang nako, desidido jud ko ato nga muambak (Since no one would help me, I decided to just jump off a billboard),” he told Cebu Daily News. His presence atop the billboard drew a crowd of spectators and stopped traffic along the road.

Vice Mayor Labella, who came from a meeting in Talamban, rushed to the site when he got word of a possible “jumper” attempting suicide.

“Bai, naog na diri, bai. Kitang tanang tawo naay problema. Ali na, kanaog na (My friend, come down. We all have problems. Come on, get down here),” Labella called out on a megaphone as a fire truck and ambulance waited below.

Labella said he knew the young man could be hungry so he promised the stranger some food and a cold soft drink. About two hours later, the billboard climber responded and shouted back.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella convinces the potential billboard jumper to stop attempt. (CDN PHOTO/ CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

He slowly climbed down, greeted by loud cheers and applause from  spectators.  A green hospital sheet was thrown over his shoulders for warmth since he was shivering.

Labella embraced the young man in relief.

According to the rescued teenager in Cebuano, “There was something in his voice that gave me hope.”

“Wa ko nagdahum nga ingon ani diay kalisod. Karon akong ganahan kay mo uli nalang sa Mindanao kay gi-mingaw na kos akong mama (I didn’t expect this trip to be so hard. Now, I just want to go home to Mindanao because I miss my mother),” he told CDN.

Labella kept his promise to help by providing a boat ticket for the ride home on Monday. The vice mayor also gave him some pocket money.

Before settling the hospital bill, the vice mayor made the teenager assure him one thing.

“Basta ha, igsakay nimo sa barko, basin mulayat ka, ha    (Make sure that when you ride the boat, you don’t try to jump overboard, OK)?” Labella said  with a smile.