Woman, pregnant teen commit suicide

Two women facing different circumstances took their lives separately, with one of them jumping off a 27-story building and the other, by drinking water mixed with a toxic ingredient.

At 9 a.m. yesterday, the police responded to a report that a woman had jumped from the  Prestige Tower, a 27-story building in Barangay San Antonio, Pasig City, which houses companies ranging from employment agencies to manufacturing establishments.

When they got to the scene, they found the bloodied body of a woman lying face down on Garnet Street.

A man who works nearby but who refused to be identified told the Inquirer that he was about to cross the street when he felt something fall in front of him.

He said he thought it was just a big bag that had been thrown out into the street.

“But then I saw her there. She was dead, of course,” he added.

Authorities had a difficult time establishing the identity of the woman since she was not carrying an identification card at the time.

Inside a shoulder bag that was found near her left foot, they found a wallet which contained some money.

The only clue the police had was a visitor’s stub they found in the bag, apparently the same kind given by security guards at the Prestige lobby to visitors.

The stub was stamped 8:45 a.m.

Later in the day, Senior Supt. Mario Rariza, Pasig police chief, identified the victim as Josephine Maranan, between 30 and 45 years old.

Melvin Villaluz, a member of the Pasig City Rescue who rushed to the scene, said that the victim was identified based on the Social Security System card authorities retrieved from security guards at the lobby.

According to Villaluz, Maranan was an employee of a company housed on the 26th floor of the building.

Rariza later identified the firm as Grolier Scholastic, which based on its website is a publishing company.

The Inquirer tried to reach Grolier Scholastic but calls to a number posted on its online site went unanswered.

Villaluz said that based on initial investigation, Maranan had an appointment with her former employer before 9 a.m., but instead of going there, she went straight for the rooftop, which housed a smoking area and an eatery.

It was here, Villaluz said, that building personnel saw her pacing back and forth near the edge of the building.

“According to the building administration, they talked to her but she jumped,” Villaluz said.

Rariza said that they were still trying to determine the reason behind the victim’s decision to end her life.

Maranan’s husband was set to appear before the Pasig City Police within the week to shed light on the incident.

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old pregnant woman was found dead on Monday evening in her apartment in Caloocan City.

Her boyfriend said that earlier, she had asked him to buy a substance for cleaning silver and to download a breakup song on her iPod.

The body of Cherryrose Nillas was discovered by her sister, Cristine, at 9 p.m. inside their apartment at Alimasag Alley, Barangay 14, police said.

Case investigator SPO1 Joselito Barredo Jr. said an empty bottle of distilled water was also found in the apartment. Police are still investigating the cause of her death, he added.

The boyfriend of Nillas, Rheyniel Gilbuena, who is detained at the Caloocan City police station, said she was still alive when he left their apartment at 6 p.m.

“We just celebrated our 8th monthsary,” Gilbuena told the Inquirer. “We didn’t fight. In fact, we were sweet.” With Rima Jessamine M. Granali