Man falls off tree in suicide try

CEBU, Philippines - An alleged drug addict fell off a palm tree when trying to reach for a gun he had demanded from those negotiating for him to go down.

But Eric Norcardo may still be lucky that he got snagged by electric wires and did not fall straight to the ground.

The incident happened in Barangay Apas yesterday morning.

Edwin Yap, a resident in the area, said he saw Norcardo up the tree at around 5 am when he went out of his house to relax. What he reportedly noticed first was a man murmuring and, seconds later, a young coconut fell to the ground.

“I saw him (Norcardo) when I looked up at the coconut tree. I immediately called for help from the Barangay while I heard him saying that if a police would pass, he would ask to be shot,” Yap said in Cebuano.

Mary Joy Buffington, Yap’s neighbor, also said she saw Norcardo the night before clinging to a branch of the palm tree, but she reportedly did not take it seriously.

Around 7am, the Barangay Apas rescue team headed by Barangay Captain Ayuman arrived at the scene and started negotiating for Norcardo to go down.

Ayuman said he also sought help from the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) but ERUF said the right agency to respond to the incident should be the Bureau of Fire Protection or the Philippine National Police.

Ayuman said he tried to convince Norcardo to go down by offering him food, but Norcardo declined and instead demanded for a gun, saying he wanted to shoot himself with it. 

Moments later, a rescue team from BFP arrived and FO2 Romeo Birao took over the negotiations. He decided to yield to Norcardo’s demand for a gun and attempted to trick him with a .45 pistol without a magazine. But Norcardo would not be fooled and gave the gun back. He then demanded for another one with bullets.

This time around, Birao changed tactics and tried to trick Norcardo by handing the gun over to him by attaching the same to the tip of a ladder.

With the tip of the ladder just a few meters from him, Norcardo tried to move closer to it and slipped. He fell to the dashboard of the boom truck used during the operation.

Later, still appearing disoriented, Norcardo told reporters that he did not know what he was doing. He was rushed to Cebu City Medical Center for immediate medical attention. 

Ayuman, on the other hand, was thankful that the incident was resolved with minimal damage.

“Sa akong tan-aw, dunay tendency nga maghikog gyud siya, kay nediretso man og demanda armas, ang tawong maghikog, maghikog gyud,” he said.

He said the incident should be a learning experience that barangays do not have sufficient rescue equipment to respond to cases such as that. Ayuman said he will meet with his councilmen to discuss the possibility of acquiring additional rescue equipment.  (FREEMAN)