A MAN who climbed to the top of a 30-foot coconut tree around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, refused to come down despite numerous pleas from the barangay tanods and his relatives as of this writing.
Benjie Pantinople, a local, was believed to be under the influence of drugs during the incident that occurred in Sitio Kabagohan in the mountain barangay of Panadtaran, Argao town, southern Cebu.
Michael Amarillo, a barangay tanod, said in an interview with SunStar Cebu that they requested Benjie to come down from the coconut tree, but he refused, claiming that five people wanted to kill him.
Amarillo said they then called the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Argao rescue team and the police for assistance.
However, Pantinople was terrified of the authorities, so they were unable to approach him.
Instead, a tarpaulin was placed underneath to catch Pantinople in the event of a fall.
Francisca, Pantinople's mother, claimed that her son experienced this for the first time and that she was not aware that he was using drugs.
But according to a Barangay Captain Pacit Villamora, Benjie was a drug user.
Francisca described how, on Tuesday night, her son quickly left their house because five people were pursuing him and wanted to kill him.
Barangay Tanod Bobby Remoroza corroborated Francisca’s claim.
He said that Benjie yelled for help because someone was pursuing and attempting to shoot him,
By the time they got to the coconut tree, Benjie was already perched there, murmuring and asking for forgiveness from the people he indebted to and promising pay them back. (DVG, TPT)