MANILA, Philippines – A jobless man sat on the railing of a footbridge along EDSA in Caloocan City and fell to his death yesterday morning.
Robert Pelayo, 37, was dead when found by his relatives under the 16-foot footbridge in Bagong Barrio at around 9:45 a.m.
Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano, Caloocan City police investigation chief, said the victim, whose wife is working in Dubai, had just visited his mother, Elvira, 64, and told her that his in-laws always suspect his involvement each time something in their house is missing.
Elvira said that before leaving, her son embraced her and asked for forgiveness for his shortcomings, which baffled her.
More than an hour later, Roselyn Alamodin, 20, a former neighbor of the victim, informed Elvira that her son leaped off a footbridge along EDSA.
Alamodin said the victim was apparently drunk when she met him on the footbridge and even told her to tell her older brother “goodbye.” She tried to convince the victim to go home but failed, prompting her to leave to seek his relatives’ help.
She said before she could get down the footbridge she heard a loud thud and saw Pelayo’s bloody body.
Other witnesses told police Pelayo sat on the railing, with his back turned towards the Balintawak Cloverleaf Interchange, and – like a scuba diver – flipped over the railing and fell.
A passing vehicle allegedly ran over him after he fell, witnesses said.