By KIER EDISON C. BELLEZA
CEBU CITY – A 17-year-old Grade 12 student finally succeeded in taking her own life after several attempts, jumping off an open window at the seventh floor of her school building in Barangay Kalubihan here, late Thursday afternoon.
The fatality, identified as Jonah Villarin, an enrollee at Asian College of Technology, was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival due to severe head injuries.
Stephen Descallar, school president, expressed shock over the unfortunate incident.
He revealed Villarin tried to jump off the eighth floor of the school building earlier that day but was prevented from doing so only through the timely intervention of a teacher who then brought her to the school’s guidance counselor.
According to Descallar, Villarin admitted to the guidance counselor she was allegedly being “physically, verbally and psychologically abused” by her parents.
He quoted the young girl as saying: “Gikapoy na ko sa akong kinabuhi kay puros lang pain (I’m already tired of my life because it’s full of pain.)”
The victim’s mother told police Villarin attempted to take her life several times in the past, at one point ingesting a dozen packs of monosodium glutamate (vetsin), as with a dozen of antibiotics and paracetamol capsules.
The mother added that at the time of her death, Villarin hasn’t been going home for a week already following a scolding.