Rescue starts the month

UPDATE (08.02.13):  I have just been told additional information which fills in and gives the rest of the story involving this situation and what took place previously.  I know that this blog is read as is the skyscrapercity forum that had been exclusively posted to originally along with the Weebly site.  The skyscrapercity forum still receives posts by us and older posts will still be transferred to this blog from there.

What I have now been told is very disturbing and creates a sadder and greater picture as to the mismanagement in the building and a dilemma since such information as I was given in the US would be needed by the authorities.  Here, I do not know.  What I realize, if this information is true, is that our safety has been put at jeopardy and security is a joke or illusion.

Since much of our and others' work and concerns have been used or imitated after reading here and other websites, I will give 24 hours for the entire truth to be revealed.  After that, I must post what I have now been told.

A Distraught Person

Sadly from what I had gathered from various reports this morning after seeing a variety of emergency vehicles on Shaw Boulevard in front of the building, an individual apparently had difficulty coping with life and sought a solution much too final.  The media were also outside with cameras rolling and officials posing for their chance to be in the paper.  The sadness saw all aspects of life from the helpless to those helping themselves to their 15 minutes of fame.

As for the attention we all need to give in the building operation, why were only three elevators operating?  True, not a fire emergency but the situation involved the elevators, too.

At least one elevator, if not all those running, stopped at every floor.  Every single floor,  Why?  We should all be grateful that another life threatening medical emergency was not taking place at the same time.  If it had been, I can only assume that the person would have suffered more than they should or not gotten medical attention needed.  Do I need to state what their outcome may have been having the elevator stop at every floor?

And also in this excitement to start off the month, I heard people on our floor after being told that the 18th was where the individual was situated.  There was a group at the electrical room which included a maintenance engineer, guards, 4th floor administration personnel and, I believe, the guy who works in the gym.  But, why on this floor at the electrical room?  Then a guard came out the secondary stairwell door and announced the 22nd floor and like Keystone cops they all went running.  Again, I was told by two different people prior to that the 18th floor.

I was told the distraught person was taken to seek psychological care.  I would suggest there are more in the building needing such attention.

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The following are three articles we were able to locate online after all the media was outside yesterday.  Some of the details in the articles conflict with each other though the DZMM appears to have more accurate information.  The Inquirer seems to have a selective reporting.  The details also conflict what was being told about the building such as the age, relationship to the roommate and where the person was taken.

Manila Bulletin - Metro News

Man threatening to jump off a Mandaluyong building

By Francis T. Wakefield

Published: August 1, 2013

Tension is currently gripping an area in Mandaluyong City as a still unidentified man reportedly wants to kill himself by threatening to jump from a building. 

Initial reports reaching the radio operations center of the Mandaluyong City Police Station, said the unidentified man is threatening to end his life by jumping from the 16th floor of the Soho Central Condominium.

According to Police Officer 3 (PO3) Wilfredo Valle, the said condominium building is located along Mayflower St.,  Shaw Boulevard, Barangay Highwayhills, Mandaluyong City. He added that the incident started at 8:20 a.m. this morning.

As of press time, Senior Supt. Florendo Quibuyen, chief of the Mandaluyong City Police Station, is at the area talking to the unidentified man. Valle added that members of the Special Reaction Unit (SWAT) and Mandaluyong City Rescue, are also in the area trying to control the situation.

"Medyo tense ang sitwasyon at gusto nga magpakamatay ng nasabing lalaki [The situation is tense as the said man wants to commit suicide]," Valle said.

Valle said the identity of the man is still unknown. Its also unclear if he is a tenant in one of the condominium units at the said building. 

The road along the area has also been closed due to the situation. (Francis T. Wakefield)

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Philippine Daily Inquirer - Metro
Troubled dancer ‘one wrong step’ away from death at Mandaluyong condo

Friday, August 2nd, 2013

Tension gripped a busy area in Mandaluyong City on Thursday after a man reportedly tried to jump from the 18th floor of a condominium building.

Police said that when they finally got hold of Richie Zamora, 29, he first claimed that he just wanted “to get some air” but later admitted he was “emotionally stressed.”

Senior Supt. Florendo Quibuyen said Zamora, a bar dancer and a part-time driver, suddenly went over the balcony railing of his 18th floor unit at Soho Central condominium near the corner of Edsa and Shaw Boulevard around 8 a.m. Zamora shared the unit with a male live-in partner, who was not around at the time, the city police chief added.

For over an hour, Zamora held on to the railing and was “one wrong step” away from certain death, said another officer.

Quibuyen said members of the fire department and the building’s security chief tried to enter Zamora’s unit but the door was “chain-locked.” They also considered using a harness to reach him from a 19th-floor balcony, but a unit owner on that floor refused to let them in unless they sign a “waiver.”

Zamora later returned inside his unit and was placed under arrest for alarm and scandal.

Interviewed while in detention, he said he had been having family and money problems lately, and that he had just learned that morning that his six-month-old daughter with a former live-in partner in Cavite province was sick.  Kristine Felisse Mangunay

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Lalaki, nagtangkang tumalon sa condo unit sa Mandaluyong; lango umano sa droga

By dzmm.com.ph | 11:17 AM 08/01/2013

"Isang lalaking hinihinalang lango sa droga ang nagtangkang tumalon mula sa ika-18 palapag ng isang condominium sa Mandaluyong City."

Isang lalaking hinihinalang lango sa droga ang nagtangkang tumalon mula sa ika-18 palapag ng isang condominium sa Mandaluyong City.

Ayon kay Mandaluyong City Police Chief Senior Supt. Florendo Quibuyen na nangasiwa sa sitwasyon, nasa terrace ng unit 1811 ng Soho Central Private Residences Condominium ang hindi pa tukoy na lalaki, nakahawak sa railings at nagtangkang tumalon.

Agad namang rumesponde ang mga tauhan ng Bureau of Fire Department - Mandaluyong Special Rescue Unit at nakipagnegosasyon.

Ayon kay Sr. Insp. Roberto Samillano, hepe ng operations ng Mandaluyong- BFP, nadala sa pakiusapan ang lalaki at nakumbinsi rin itong sumama.

Ngunit pagbaba sa ground floor ng condo, nagwala ang lalaki at nagtangka pang tumakas bagamat napigilan ito at pinosasan.

Hinihinalang lango sa ilegal na droga ang lalaki dahil may narekober na mga drug paraphernalia sa loob ng unit nito. 

Kasong alarm and scandal ang isasampa sa lalaki.

Pagbabawalan na ng pamunuan ng condominium ang lalaki na kapatid ng mismong tenant ng unit. Report from Dexter Ganibe, Radyo Patrol 45


translation:

Male, attempts to jump from a condo unit in Mandaluyong; allegedly under the influence of drugs  

A male allegedly under the influence of drugs attempted to jump from the 18th floor of a condominium in Mandaluyong City.
According to Mandaluyong City Police Chief Senior Supt. Florendo Quibuyen who oversaw the situation, the unidentified male was at the terrace of unit 1811 of Soho Central Private Residences Condominium, holding the railings and attempting to jump.
Members of the Bureau of Fire Department - Mandaluyong Special Rescue Unit immediately responded and negotiated.
According to Sr. Insp. Roberto Samillano, chief of operations of Mandaluyong- BFP, the male agreed and was convinced to join them.
However upon reaching the ground floor of the condo, the male went crazy and attempted to escape though was prevented and was cuffed.
The male is believed to be under the influence of a controlled substance since drug paraphernalia was recovered inside his unit.
Alarm and scandal will be charged to the male.
The male who is brother of said tenant of unit will be prohibited by the person in-charge of the condominium. Report from Dexter Ganibe, Radyo Patrol 45

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Lalaki muntik nang tumalon mula sa condo sa Mandaluyong


Ni AJ Bolando (Pilipino Star Ngayon) | Updated August 1, 2013 - 9:56am

MANILA, Philippines - Isang lalaki ang nagtangkang magpakamatay sa pamamagitan ng pagtalon mula sa ika-18 na palapag ng isang condominium sa Mandaluyong City ngayong Huwebes ng umaga.

Ayon sa isang ulat sa radyo, nasa terrace na ng unit 1811 ang hindi pa nakikilalang lalaki at nakaambang tumalon nang makita ng isang residente.

Nang malaman na may nakakita sa kanyang gagawin ay bumalik ang lalaki sa loob ng kanyang unit sa Soho central private residences na nasa panulukan ng Shaw boulevard at kalye ng Mayflower sa Greenfield District na dating EDSA Central.

Kaagad rumesponde ang Special Rescue Unit ng Mandaluyong fire station upang kausapin ang lalaki na hanggang ngayon ay nakakulong sa loob ng kanyang kwarto.

Tumulong na rin ang Makati rescue upang mapigilan ang lalaki sa pagtalon.

Kasalukuyang hinahanap ang kapatid ng lalaki na siyang may-ari ng unit upang kumbinsihin na huwag ituloy ang pagpapakamatay.

translation:

Male almost jumps from condo in Mandaluyong

MANILA, Philippines - A male attempts to commit suicide by jumping from the 18th floor of a condominium in Mandaluyong City this Thursday morning.

 According to a radio report, the still unidentified male was already at the terrace of unit 1811 and imminently ready to jump when a resident saw him.

 When he discovered that an eyewitness saw what he was planning to do, the male went inside his unit in Soho Central Private Residences which is at the corner of Shaw Boulevard and t Mayflower Street in Greenfield District which used to be EDSA Central.

 Special Rescue Unit of Mandaluyong fire station immediately responded to talk to the male who is currently still locked inside his own room.

 Makati rescue also assisted in preventing the male from jumping.

 They are currently searching for his brother who is owner of the unit to convince him not to commit suicide.

 (By AJ Bolando of Pilipino Star Ngayon)