GAPAN CITY – A 12-year-old unschooled but usually joyful boy, who had shared the brunt of poverty with his farm-help family, reportedly committed suicide in Barangay Sto. Cristo Sur here at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
PO3 Dennish Pengson, investigator, said Jerome Roman, was found by his mother, Virginia,47, “lying unconscious with nylon cord tied around his neck,” at the receiving area of the neighboring farmhouse where they temporarily settle after their own house was razed by Typhoon Santi last month.
Jerome was rushed to Gapan District Hospital but was declared dead upon arrival by physicians, police reported. The victim’s mother said she saw the nylon cord connected to a net swing twice rolled around Jerome’s neck, with his body on the swing and feet on the ground.
Virginia said Jerome, the eighth in the brood of eleven, fetched gallons of drinking water from a shallow well about a kilometer away moments before the incident. The water was brought to the place of their totally collapsed hut when they return on daytime. “Tapos tinatawag ko siya, hindi ko na makita kaya hinanap ko siya.
Nakita ko na nga siya dalawang beses nakapulupot yung lubid sa leeg niya,” she said. Jerome’s father, 47-yearold Ariel could not believe his son would commit suicide considering his positive attitude.
“Masayahin ‘yan,” he said. At his young age, he said, Jerome would help him in the two-hectare ricefield where he is a percentage worker. Jerome would pick leftover after harvest in neighbors’ fields. “Namamapagpag ng palay ‘yan, mahilig mag-alaga ng itik o manok,” Ariel said. Jerome would also catch fish either from a ricefield or a dike for their viand.
“Nangunguryente pa siya ng isda,” Virginia said. Police would not immediately establish the motive or cause of Jerome’s suicide. But his father believes his son could have been attacked by sudden depression after their house totally collapsed due to Typhoon Santi last Oct. 11. “Masyado siguro siyang nalungkot,” Ariel said.
He said he never heard his son dreaming of anything else than helping his family. “Kasi nga wala namang pinagaralan, ayaw na niyang magaaral dahil umabot na siya sa edad na ‘yan,” he added. The owner of the farmhouse, located in the middle of a ricefield, resides in the center of the village.
Virginia said they could not even afford an autopsy since this entails expenses on their part.
In Licab town, a 27-yearold farm help also hanged himself Monday, apparently due to dire poverty. Jose Sebastian, single, was found dead by relatives at about 6 a.m. Monday in an uninhabited house in Barangay San Casimiro, police said. Police said Sebastian used a small nylon cord.
Investigation showed that the victim was deeply indebted. “That could possibly the reason for him to commit suicide,” police reported.
