By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The man involved in the tree climbing incident in Talisay City, Negros Occidental over the weekend said he wants full custody of his child, after his wife reportedly took the child away when she decided to leave him.

In a radio interview over RMN DYHB-Bacolod yesterday morning, Ronnie Noquiana, father of Monico Noquiana, apologized over his son’s actions and explained that the reason why his son may have done the incident is because he didn’t have any sleep for several days.

The elder Noquiana said he has talked with his son, and he said that he wants full custody of his three-year-old child.

It has also been confirmed by the elder Noquiana that his son had already been separated with his wife for two years, although the wife would usually allow the child to see his father and grandparents.

He also confirmed that this was the second time that his son climbed up a tree. The first one was when Monico climbed up a tree grieving over the death of his aunt.

Earlier on Saturday, December 26, Monico climbed a santol tree and perched on the branches for 17 hours after a misunderstanding with his wife.

Policemen and rescuers from the Talisay City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office rushed to the area after receiving a report that a man made a scene by climbing a tree.

They tried to rescue Monico but the latter further climbed to a higher portion of the tree.

Rescue operation was initially hampered by the rains and the tree’s slippery trunk and branches.

Authorities set up a rescue net around the tree in case Monico loses grip and falls down.

By night time, police brought in Monico’s parents and relatives who also tried to convince him to come down.

After an hours-long negotiation, Monico finally decided to go down from the tree at around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 27./DGB, WDJ