Traffic stalled for at least two hours at a downtown street after a security guard climbed a four-story unfinished building and attempted to jump.
The guard, a native of Daanbantayan town, Cebu, stayed at the roof for five hours before he was finally convinced by rescuers to go down.
Police said the man climbed the roof around 4 a.m. yesterday.
Police said the man of VISDA Security Agency is assigned at the building being constructed near the Zapatera barangay hall.
Supt. Rex Derilo, chief of the Firearms Explosives Security Agencies and Guards Supervisory Section, was passing in the area on his way to office when he noticed a commotion.
Derilo served as negotiator.
While at the roof, Derilo said the security guard initially told him that someone was chasing him that forced him to climb the roof. He also complained about his low salary, said Derilo.
The man complained that he was only earning P148 a day.
There were times when the man would try to jump whenever a rescuer attempts to go near him.
Because of the incident, traffic at the corners of D. Jakosalem and Ramos Streets leading to Sikatuna Street were closed for two hours.
Around 9 a.m., the man was finally convinced by his cousin and a policeman to go down.
“Naay tawo mikugod nako, mao to nidagan ko unya pag abot sa ibabaw wa na sad sila mogukod (Someone was chasing me that’s why I ran. They stopped chasing me when I climbed the roof),” the man said in an interview.
Some construction workers said the security guard started acting strangely last Tuesday when they had a drinking session.
The man was later brought to the Investigation and Detective Management Branch office where he was given food.
Police said the man could be charged for alarm and scandal. /CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON