Jail officer, postal man die while on duty in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines—Two government workers, a jail officer and a postal office employee, died while manning their respective posts over the weekend in Quezon City.

Apparently dead from natural causes were postman Fernando Cerna, assigned with the Novaliches Post Office, of Benita Street in Gulod, Novaliches; and Jail Officer 2 Fernando Rivas, 44, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) guard detailed at the Quezon City Jail.

Reports from the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU) said that Cerna was discovered at around 3:30 p.m., Saturday, in front of a steel manufacturing company along P. Dela Cruz Street in San Bartolome, Novaliches.

Police Officer 2 Julius Cesar Balbuena said that security guard Benjamin Bermudez found Cerna seated on the pavement and leaning against a concrete wall despite the harsh heat. When Bermudez approached the postman, the security guard realized that Cerna was already stiff and immediately reported his find to barangay officials.

Meanwhile, Jail Officer 2 Rivas was manning his post at the entrance gate of the Quezon City jail when he fell unconscious and stumbled off his chair at around 2 a.m. on Sunday.

According to his fellow jail guard, Jail Officer 1 Anecor Colona, they were on sentry duty when Rivas suddenly fell forward. When he caught his colleague and tried to sit him back on the chair, Rivas again stumbled with blood oozing out his mouth.

Colona and other jail guards brought Rivas to the East Avenue Medical Center but the jail officer was declared dead by doctors within minutes of treatment.