Man jumps to his death from LRT

MANILA, Philippines - The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) confirmed reports that a 35-year-old man instantly died after jumping off a station of LRT line 2 in Quezon City last Saturday. Blotter reports from the Quezon City Police Department revealed that a certain Elino Sordilla, Jr. of Cembo, Makati City had committed suicide when he jumped off the overhead LRT 2 Betty Go Belmonte station and landed on a construction site along Aurora Boulevard. The incident happened at about 3:30 p.m and the victim was immediately brought to San Juan Medical Center. He was pronounced dead on arrival by 5:30 p.m. His remains were brought to St. Mark Memorial Chapel in Sampaloc, Manila. Police found a breakup letter in the victim's possession but said they are still conducting further investigations on his motive for committing suicide. As of press time, the victim's ''legal'' family had not yet surfaced to claim his remains. LRTA spokesperson Hernando Cabrera confirmed that before the incident, Sordilla bought a ticket for a trip to the Santolan Station. He said the teller who sold Sordilla his ticket remembered the victim as ''uneasy'' and ''disoriented.'' ''When he got inside the station platform, our guards said they saw him walking just like other passengers. But every thing went very fast. It took him seconds to climb the station fence and finally jump off. They had the chance to blow their whistles to get his attention but it was too late to keep the victim from falling,'' Cabrera said. Since the police ruled the incident as a suicide, the LRTA holds no liability for Sordilla's death. But on the facility administrators' part, Cabrera said they will devise mechanisms to help prevent passengers from committing suicide within the premises of the train stations. ''It's hard to read the minds of each of our passengers especially when they flock during rush hours. But we will have internal discussions to help curb incidents like this,'' he added.