Makati police chief stops Skyway suicide attempt

Makati City police chief Superintendent Gilbert Cruz was at the right place and at the right time as he successfully prevented a 40-year-old woman from jumping off the Skyway on Pasay Road in Makati City last Saturday afternoon.

Sustaining minor injuries, he and his driver-aide were able to grab Delia Sanchez, a housemaid, at the right moment to stop her from committing suicide.

"She claimed someone was after her and wanted to kill her," Cruz told The Star in an interview.

The Makati police chief said if he and Police Officer 1 Perfecto de Mayo had failed to act swiftly, the woman would have jumped to her death.

Still feeling the adrenaline rush of personally responding to an emergency situation and being able to hold on to someone who was about to fall 40 feet down, Cruz said he was glad to have been in the vicinity.

His car was in the area when he learned about a woman who was about to jump from the Skyway. He told De Mayo to take the fastest route to the Skyway.

"When we got there, she was about to jump so we grabbed her. Pumapalag pa nga, eh. I had to clamp my legs on the railing para di ko mabitawan," he said.

A report from Police Community Precinct 4 said police officers who responded to the scene at around 2:46 p.m. saw how Cruz and De Mayo struggled to pull up the woman, who was kicking and resisting.

She was taken to the local Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office after being pacified.

Cruz said the woman, a native of Negros Occidental and resident of Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City, did not appear to be mentally disturbed. – Michael Punongbayan