2 11th graders end their lives

Two 17-year-old students reportedly ended their own lives in the towns of Balamban and Pinamungajan, Cebu over family problems.

The bodies of the teenagers were discovered by their relatives last Monday morning.

In Pinamungajan, police said that a daughter of a former barangay captain took her own life, but she connected with her female friend through Facebook Messenger before she did it.

Mara (not her real name) sent pictures of herself with a noose around her neck to her close friend, whom she told she could not take the abuse from her 13-year-old brother anymore. One photo was a closeup shot of her neck, while the other one was a selfie of herself standing on a plastic chair.

SPO3 Peter Cuanso, investigator, said the friend tried to convince Mara not to continue with her plan.

Last Saturday, Cuanso said, Mara was cleaning the house when the boy messed around. The girl told her brother to behave but the latter got mad.

“The boy mauled her until she lost consciousness,” he said in Cebuano.

She was discovered lifeless inside her room past 7 a.m. in Barangay Butong, Pinamungajan.

Mara’s older sister had advised her to forgive her brother and set aside their misunderstanding last Sunday.

On the following day, the sister and her husband visited Mara, but the girl would not open the door to her room. The couple decided to destroy the door and found the lifeless girl.

In Barangay Nangka, Balamban, an investigation showed a boy killed himself after he was scolded by his father.

Karl (not his real name) was discovered hanging from a branch of a tree by his father past 9 a.m. He used a rope.

He allegedly went out of the house after he received a rebuke from his father last Sunday.

Dr. Rene Obra, head of the Center for Behavioral Sciences (CBS) of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), said in earlier reports that relatives of a family member, whom they sense to be feeling depressed, should seek medical help.

He said the family should treat the situation as serious, adding that severe depression could often lead to other problems such as suicidal tendencies. /