THE argument that was repeatedly and loudly said during the past week was that measures being adopted by the Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) are futile, even pointless.
Why? They argue that a person who is determined to kill himself cannot be stopped.
If a person is prevented once from leaping from one of the two bridges spanning Mactan and Cebu--Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge and Serging Osmeña Bridge--he will come back to try again or look for another bridge. Or he will slash his wrist, hang himself, put his head in a plastic bag to smother himself, or look for a tall building or tree where he can jump off. There are many ways in Suicide 101.
MCBMB’s authority
They ask, why should the MCBMB limit itself to just one manner of death by suicide? Silly. The board’s authority is only over the two bridges. It has no mandate over, say, the premises of Qimonda, Cebu’s so-called hall of justice, where a targeted lawyer risks being spotted, pursued as he leaves and then gunned down. It’s a kind of suicide, lawyers quip, if a “compañero” under threat ventures into Qimonda. At least two lawyers, on their trip from there, were ambushed: one was killed; the other luckily survived a rain of bullets.
The two Mactan-Cebu bridges seem to have a “strong pull” to would-be suicides. Their victims and survivors (four died, including a 16-year-old student athlete; three survived; and 17 stopped) are much smaller in number compared to the death toll at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California (one every other day). But the fascination of those who want to kill themselves at a bridge is the same.
“Crossing over”
Here’s why it has become a fixation.
One: To many people, psychologists say, a bridge represents transition, with “crossing over” as euphemism for taking the journey from life to death.
Two: They must think that death from a bridge fall is quick, almost certain and not messy. A jump from a high-rise building would need a lot to clean up after the body hits ground.
Two: Access to the bridge is easy. Here one can ride a bike or a cab, or, for those living nearby, just walk to the middle of the bridge. At Golden Gate, there’s a lot of parking space for private and public vehicles.
Access and what help
On access to the suicide site, MCBMB thought that by banning bicycles and pedestrians (from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.), it could make it tougher to reach the site. There are other ways to get there. Last June 30, 2018, a woman rode a cab to the middle of Fernan bridge, got off and, as the driver helplessly watched, jumped into the waters below.
Police outposts at each foot and middle of the bridge and police cruise cars will help. What appears to be more effective is increasing the height of the rails at Fernan and Serging bridges. At Golden Gate, they call it suicide barrier, consisting of four metal “protrusions” on the west and east flanks.
Last Aug. 8, 2018, the Cebu Provincial Board urged in a resolution the Mandaue City Government to put up nets and metal barriers. Under MCBMB, where Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Cebu Province are represented, the rails may be increased to twice its current height of 90 cms.
Not being wasted
Would that deter the would-be suicide? A University of California Berkeley study tracked 515 people who attempted to kill themselves at Golden Gate. Twenty five years later, the study found out that only six percent finally killed themselves. The others survived or died by natural causes.
It looks like those who may want to jump off a bridge and are stopped or survive the fall most likely will decide to go on living.
If that is right, MCBMB is not wasting its time and resources.