Famous Pinoy Suicides (2001-2011)

Suicides are not uncommon in the Philippines. A lot of Filipinos have resorted to this means of death due to depression, substance abuse and other various reasons. And with the recent suicide of former AFP Chief Angelo T. Reyes, let us look back on other suicide cases which captivated the imagination of the Filipino public.

Maria Theresa Carlson (2001)

Maria Teresa Gerodias Carlson was Miss Young Philippines 1979 and went on to represent the country in the Miss Young International Pageant in Tokyo on the same year. Her pageant fame landed her a showbiz career which led her to appear in the hit sitcom Chicks to Chicks with the trio of Joey De Leon, Tito and Vic Sotto.

Carlson's road to suicide began in 1982 when she married Rodolfo Farinas. Her marriage to the Ilocano politician attracted media attention due to allegations of physical and sexual abuse suffered by Carlson in the hands of her husband. In 1996, she appeared in the investigative program Probe to detail claims of abuse she suffered. Farinas reportedly subjected her to water torture and other forms of physical abuse.

Carlson ended her life on November 23, 2001 by jumping from the 23rd floor of her Greenhills, San Juan condominium.

A.R. Santiago (2003)

Alexander Robert Santiago is the youngest son of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

The aspiring law student from the Ateneo Law School committed suicide on November 20, 2003 by shooting himself in the neck inside his room at the Santiago residence in La Vista, Quezon City. The young Santiago was reportedly depressed about not being admitted at the University of the Philippines College of Law after failing the subject on Constitutional Law. He was also asked embarrassing questions about his mother's alleged "insanity" and his father's gambling activities during his application interview at UP, an event which really bothered the young Santiago up to the day of his suicide.

Teddy Borlongan (2005)

Teodoro C. Borlongan was the last president of the now-defunct Urban Bank.

During his presidency, Urban Bank was closed by the Bangko Central ng Pilipinas for failing to meet withdrawals. The bank was placed under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation and eventually merged with ExportBank in 2001. Meanwhile, Borlongan and his associates faced allegations of estafa and economic sabotage for their role in the bank closure.

Reportedly distraught by his colleagues' betrayal during the bank mess, Borlongan committed suicide on April 11, 2005 at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina, in a car parked near his parents' grave by shooting himself in the head. Six years later, Angelo Reyes would emulate his style of suicide.

Rod Strunk (2007)

Roger Lawrence Strunk is the principal accused in the murder of veteran Filipino actress Nida Blanca in 2001. Strunk and his co-accused Philip Medel reportedly stabbed Blanca to death inside her parked car in Greenhills, San Juan. Strunk moved to the United States to escape prosecution in the Philippines and successfully fought extradition requests by the government.

Prior to Blanca's murder and his suicide, Strunk was a television actor and singer in the US during the 60s. Strunk met Blanca in the US in 1979 and relocated with her in Manila after their marriage.

Strunk ended his life by jumping at the 2nd floor balcony of his hotel in Tracy, California on July 11, 2007.

Trina Etong (2009)

Trinidad Arteche Etong was the wife of veteran ABS-CBN broadcaster Ted Failon.

Etong's suicide in 2009 was very sensational with both ABS-CBN and GMA following the story to the detail. Etong was found dead in the bathroom of their home in Quezon City due to a gunshot wound in her head. Initially, police suspected murder with Ted Failon as the prime suspect after police found out that the broadcaster tampered with the crime scene. However, further investigations cleared Failon of charges.

Etong reportedly took her life due to undisclosed financial problems.

Angie Reyes (2011)

Angelo Tomas Reyes was the Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the Estrada Administration (1998-2001). His withdrawal of support for Estrada was a pivotal moment in the 2001 EDSA Revolution which put Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into power.

His loyalty to the Arroyo administration earned him various positions in the government, serving as secretary to the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Defense, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Energy. In the 2010 Philippine Elections, Reyes attempted to run as a party-list representative for the transport group 1-UTAK but was dropped by his party members after being disqualified by the Comelec. In 2011, Reyes was accused of being involved in large scale corruption in the Armed Forces during his time as Chief-of-Staff. He reportedly received as much as Php 50 million in "send-off" money during his retirement. In the subsequent Senate inquiry on the issue, Reyes was embarrassed by the accusations made against him by some senators which led to his depression.

Reyes committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in front of his parents' grave at the Loyala Memorial Park in Marikina City on February 8, 2011.