Woman dies after jumping from bridge

CEBU, Philippines —  A 19-year-old woman died dawn yesterday after jumping off the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge in an apparent case of suicide.

Dailyn Ibao was onboard a taxi from her workplace when she suddenly told the driver to pull it over at around 1:40 a.m. as they reached the side of the bridge facing towards Barangay Pajo in Lapu-Lapu City.

After the taxi stopped, she disembarked from the vehicle, ran towards the metal railings, and then jumped, said Senior Police Officer 2 Allan Pantaleon, investigator at the Homicide Section of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office.

Personnel from the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation-7 tried to rescue Ibao but she was already unresponsive when they reached the hospital.

Ibao reportedly worked as an entertainer at a KTV bar along M.V. Patalinjug Avenue in Barangay Pajo. She lived in a subdivision in Barangay Basak, same city.

The taxi driver, Joel Dico Quibolana, told the police he was unable to stop the victim because everything happened too fast.

He said Ibao told him to take her to the middle of the bridge as someone was allegedly waiting for her there. It was too late when the driver realized she had a different thing in mind.

Investigation showed that prior to the incident, co-workers saw Ibao crying at the bar following an alleged misunderstanding with her live-in partner.—  JMD (FREEMAN)