Man dies at Manila cinema lobby

MANILA, Philippines—A 44-year-old regular movie theater patron died late Friday afternoon inside the cinema he frequented in Manila.

Ernesto Nona, of F. Blumentritt Street in San Juan City, died apparently of a heart attack at the 2nd floor lobby of the Bravo Theater on Quezon Boulevard in Quiapo.

Police Officer 2 Jupiter Tajonera of the Manila Police District homicide section, said that Nona was identified through his mobile phone.

“I talked to a certain Elvie who told me the victim’s name and other details over the phone. Nona, I was told, went to the theater once a week,” Tajonera said, adding that the victim used to save up for his trips to the movie house.

Minutes before Nona died at around 2:15 p.m. Jeffrey Lampano, 29, and Christopher Silang, 24, were seated on a bench at the lobby of the Bravo Theater when Nona approached them.

They told the case investigator that Nona looked pale and was sweating profusely. Lampano and Silang asked him to sit on the bench but they observed that he was leaning forward, seemingly weak, and advised him to lean back against the wall.

However, when Nona leaned back, he started to gasp for breath and fell unconscious.

When Lampano checked his pulse, Nona was already dead. The witness immediately reported the death to the theater management who sought police assistance.

Nona’s body was taken to the Universal funeral homes for autopsy to determine the specific cause of his death.