Construction worker dies in drinking binge

MANILA, Philippines—Happy hour ended tragically for a 40-year-old construction worker when he died at a hospital early Saturday, shortly after he was found unconscious in the restroom of a Manila bar after a drinking binge with his buddies, police said.

Elvis Baranquel, a stay-in worker at the City Place Mall on Reina Regente Street in Binondo, was declared dead at around 2 a.m. Saturday by doctors at the Mary Johnston Hospital.

Senior Police Officer 1 Charles John Duran  of the Manila Police District homicide section said that Baranquel was found unconscious at around 1 a.m. inside the restroom of a  beerhouse on Juan Luna Street in Tondo by his co-workers and drinking buddies.

Duran said that Baranquel and his buddies had been drinking since 8 p.m. Friday. One of Baranquel’s companions, Ledo Valencia, told investigators that his co-worker excused himself to go to the restroom around 11 p.m.

When Baranquel took a long time to rejoin their group, Valencia went to the restroom to check on him but found him sitting on the toilet bowl unconscious.

Valencia said he thought that Baranquel was only drunk after consuming several bottles of beer, and decided to leave him inside the restroom to sleep off his drunkenness.

However two hours later, when the group was leaving at around 1 a.m. they found Baranquel still unconscious but noticed that his hands were cold and that he no longer moved. This prompted the men to bring their co-worker to the nearest hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.

Duran said that Baranquel could have died of natural causes in the absence of external injuries on his body.

The body was taken to the Sol funeral parlor for autopsy to determine the specific cause of his death.