A 39-year-old man, reportedly suffering from a nervous breakdown, climbed to the top of a tall coconut tree in sitio Antonio, barangay Linao, Talisay City, about 4 p.m. Thursday and stayed there for hours before he fell to his death around 5:30 a.m. yesterday.
Police identified the man as Geraldin Manreal, a resident of the place, who worked as a woodcraft worker.
Armangol, Geraldin’s father, tried to persuade him to come down but to no avail. There was one time when Geraldin even asked for his wife and relatives because he was coming down, said PO2 Harrison Quiñanola of the Talisay Police.
Inspector Jaime Santillan, along with members of the Talisay Rescue Emergency Action Team, and the Bureau of Fire Protection were at the scene but were unable to do anything for fear that Geraldin might let go and fall to the ground, as he threatened earlier.
Authoritites laid out foam instead on the ground where they presumed Manreal would land in case he made true of his threats. But when Geraldin fell, he missed the foam and hit the ground head first, Quiñanola said.
Geraldin’s father added that before his son climbed up the tree, he slashed his left wrist first. Based on this report, Quiñanola surmised that Geraldin’s grip could have been loosened by his loss of blood.
His body was taken later to a funeral parlor in Cebu City. — Brenda D. Batuto/RAE