Woman dies before casting vote in Cebu City; cardiac arrest eyed

CEBU CITY, Philippines—A 46-year-old woman died on Monday after she collapsed while waiting for her turn to vote in Bagong Bayan Elementary School in Barangay (village) Careta, Cebu City.

Terry Pañeza, 46, was already dead when medics arrived in the school, said Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, head of the city’s command center.

He said Pañeza and a neighbor were lining up inside the polling precinct when she suddenly collapsed around 7:50 a.m.

Tumulak said medics suspected that she might have suffered a cardiac arrest due to the heat inside the polling precinct.

He said the command center also received report that a 59-year-old woman collapsed inside the polling precinct in Camputhaw Elementary School, Barangay Camputhaw, Cebu City.

Rosita Abrigana was revived by  medics before she was brought to the Cebu City hospital.

Tumulak urged voters to bring bottled water and fan to ward off the humidity inside the polling precincts.

As of 10 a.m. on Monday, the weather in Cebu was partly cloudy at 31 degrees Celsius while humidity was at 66 percent. RAM/rga

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