Consultant found dead in DILG restroom

MANILA, Philippines - A consultant of the Department of Interior and Local Government was found dead inside the fourth-floor women’s restroom of the DILG building in Quezon City yesterday.

Simeon O’bida, 83, a consultant to Assistant Secretary Edgardo Abenina, whose office is on the DILG building’s fourth floor, said DILG public affairs director Feliciano Regis.

The DILG security division ruled out foul play, even as a police report stated the victim suffered from enlargement of the heart and was undergoing treatment.

DILG security chief Reynaldo Bungubung theorized that O’bida may have suffered a heart attack while inside the restroom, and injured his head when he collapsed.

Citing reports from the DILG security division and the Quezon City Police District Station 10, Regis said O’bida’s body was found on the floor of the restroom at around 6 a.m. by janitress Candelaria Dormido.

O’bida, a former professor of the University of the Philippines who worked as a writer and researcher for Abenina’s office, was among a group of personnel Abenina required to report and man the office on a 24-hour basis.

Upon noticing O’bida’s body, Dormida called the security guard on duty, Jose Senesan, who in turn called the police. 

Abenina bewailed the loss of O’bida, saying he was a dedicated and committed public servant despite his advanced age.

DILG employees said O’bida usually entered the nearest restroom he finds whenever he needs to relieve himself, and the women’s restroom is the nearest to Abenina’s fourth-floor office.

Police are conducting further investigation into O’bida’s death.  – With Mike Frialde, Reinir Padua