Man rescued after climbing billboard

CEBU, Philippines - Traffic at the downtown area was interrupted for at least an hour after a 40-year-old man climbed a billboard frame on top of a building yesterday morning.

One of the lanes at Colon corner Borromeo streets was close to traffic while authorities tried to negotiate with Marcelino Candido as kibitzers watched the gripping scene until he was rappelled down.

Candido was brought to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center-Behavioral Sciences Department after the 45-minute negotiation with the Bureau of Fire, Carbon Police Station, and City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

Carbon Police Station chief, Chief  Inspector Noel  Lomente said Candido had been on the billboard steel frame since 6:45 a.m. yesterday, but passersby ignored him.

At past 7 a.m., people have started to gather and watch Candido still on the steel frame.

Policemen arrived and set up a perimeter while calling the BFP and CDRRMO for rescue operation.

Harold Alcontin of CDRRMO said it took around 45 minutes to negotiate and finally convince Candido to go down after food was offered to him.

Alcontin said he followed the technique used by Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella who managed to convince a man, who also climbed on a billboard last week, to come down.

Using a megaphone, Alcontin convinced Candido to come down and offered him food, thinking that the latter needed it as it was breakfast time.

While he was negotiating with Candido, rescue officers from the BFP slowly climbed up and offered the food that was bought from a nearby fastfood chain.

Watching the food offered to him, Candido slowly climbed down to the building’s rooftop and ate it.

The rescue workers then talked to him and assured that he would be in safe condition if he would come with them.

Convinced, Candido was made to wear a ballcap and sunglasses, and was harnessed through a rope, placed on a portable stretcher, and rappelled down from the top of the building.

Once on the road, he was immediately taken inside a standby ambulance and was brought to VSMMC.

Onlookers gave a round of applause to the rescuers as they were rappelling Candido down.

According to Lomente, Candido climbed at the adjacent building before reaching the other building where the billboard frame was located.

It was not yet clear to the police why Candido climbed up the billboard as the latter would not reportedly talk to the police.— (FREEMAN)