Leonardia: Mall management should be more strict

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

In response to 43-year-old Jeffrey Cordova jumping to his death earlier this week from the third floor of a major shopping mall located next to Bacolod City’s reclamation area, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia advised personnel of the shopping center to “check the physical setup of its establishment.”

In a recent radio interview, Leonardia said mall management should enforce stricter measures to prevent a similar occurrence from happening again.

This is the third such incident to take place at the local mall with the first happening in 2016, when a German-national committed suicide, followed by a student in 2017.

The mayor said he plans on meeting with mall management to discuss his concerns.

Following the alleged suicide, Police Station 1 commander, Police Chief Inspector Romulo Gepilango V, said they spoke with the victim’s wife and family, who confirmed the victim had previously made several attempts on his life.

They also said Cordova suffered from depression.

Earlier reports, however, said the wife claimed Cordova suffered a seizure prior to the fall.

The victim also reportedly tried to jump from the mall’s third floor a few days before the incident, although family members managed to stop him./DGB, WDJ