In Cuyo, Palawan, a man climbed up a coconut tree. That was on Jan. 3, and he hasn’t come down yet.
ABS-CBN News reported that his family, local authorities, and village officials have tried several times to convince him to come down to no avail. The report did not want to identify the man in the tree and the affected family until he’s seen by a mental health professional.
According to the man’s mother, he fell ill for a few days and then started talking about people who he said wanted to have him killed.
The mother believes that her son might have been affected by “problems with his children,” without specifying what those problems were. She also said that he was having “family problems” before climbing up the tree.
There was a similar case in November of a man known as “Caloy” who climbed up a coconut tree in northern Mindanao and didn’t come down for three years.
The family had to send food up the tree and other supplies to help keep him alive.
Like the case in Palawan, the man in northern Mindanao also climbed up because he was afraid of people he thought were trying to kill him.
He was eventually treated by a psychiatrist who diagnosed him with psychosis.
READ: The curious case of the Filipino in the coconut tree
The family of the man in Palawan is calling out to any government agencies that can help get him down from the tree safely.
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