Guard swam for an hour, refused to be saved

MANILA, Philippines – From a boat, a salbabida (lifesaver) was tossed in his direction, but he pushed it away.

This was how witnesses recalled their last encounter with Freddie Castor, a security guard from Makati City, who apparently committed suicide Friday night by jumping into the waters of Manila Bay and swimming for about hour until his fatigued body simply quit.

Castor’s body was later retrieved from the water near Block 8, Baseco Compound, in Manila’s Port Area.  Police established his identity only through the ID found in the pocket of his short pants.

According to Senior Police Officer 3 Glenzor Vallejo of the Manila Police District, a group of Baseco residents were hanging out along the Manila Bay seawall around 10 p.m. when they saw Castor suddenly jump into the water.

Rescue attempt

Still visible from the seawall, the guard then swam for almost an hour, Vallejo said, quoting one of the witnesses, Rafael Ajero.

When Ajero and his friends noticed that Castor was already drowning, Ajero went to look for a boat to save the man. Within minutes, he found a small banca with a salbabida and rowed toward Castor.

But when he tossed the floater toward the guard, the latter refused to take it and even pushed it away. At this point, Ajero decided to return to the shoreline.

Castor eventually disappeared, prompting the group to seek assistance from village officials, Vallejo said.

The victim’s body was recovered about an hour later. The police cited drowning as the cause of death, noting that the body bore no other signs of injury. Maricar Brizuela