Sunday, May 04, 2008 Doctor shoots self? By Dante M. Fabian
ANGELES CITY -- Depression, apparently due to lack of jobs for medical professionals, drove a young doctor to shoot himself to death in Barangay Lourdes Sur East on Friday afternoon.
Gregorio Dumlao Gaerlan, 38, was found dead with a single bullet wound in the head inside the bathroom of their residence at 90 Natividad corner M. L. Quezon streets in Barangay Lourdes Sur East.
Gaerlan is said to be a doctor working as a medical transcriptionist.
Neighbors said he has been suffering from depression due to his being out of job because the companies he worked for had closed shop.
His bereaved wife, Regina Tayag Gaerlan, 40, who is taking up nursing in Manila, refused to give a statement to reporters.
Reports from the office of Superintendent Felixberto Castillo, Angeles City Police officer-in-charge, showed that Gaerlan committed suicide.
Investigators led by Senior Inspector Danilo Cadiz, detective bureau chief, and the Scene of the Crime Operations team found the death weapon, a .45 caliber pistol in the bathroom.
Cadiz said that according to family members, Gaerlan tried to kill himself by taking several sleeping pills three weeks ago.
An autopsy done by physician Joven Esguerr showed that Gaerlan died of the wound left by a single .45 caliber bullet on his head.
Friends of the family said Gaerlan finished medicine at the Angeles University Foundation.
Cadiz said that, according to Regina, the victim owned a gun and is a member of a local practical shooting club.
Regina has kept the gun from Gregorio but was not aware that her husband was able to find it.
(Editor's Note: The preceding story was the last report submitted by Dante M. Fabian, 49, before he joined his Creator last Friday night.)
