Feature: The plight of a psychotic vagrant

Because of a suspected poisoning incident, his mental illness had been cured. But without the proper care from his kin, he again turned filthy and insane.

His name is Isyot. He can be seen lying along the sidewalk right in front of Jollibee Legaspi Branch, if not across, by the Ultra Vistarama Theatre. He mumbles inaudibly with his palm patting is forehead, and seems unconscious with the dirt and dust that cling to his whole body.

The place has already been his dwelling for about 30 years.

"Nikalit nag tunga diri mga 70s pa," says Leo Mari, 51.

"Dili na siya mobalhin. Diri lang gud na siya," he added.

Leo is a shoe repairman and owns a space in front of Agencia Lea Esperanza Pawnshop and Jewelry along Legaspi Street. As a streetchild during his younger years, he had wandered along Legaspi, thus he quite knows Isyot. He, however, does not know anything about Isyot's background.

Almost everybody in the area doesn't know where Isyot's family is. They tried asking him several times but the man himself is perplexed.

The two months medication after the suspected poisoning incident somehow healed his mental disability, but the sidewalk remained to be his home. Without medicine and proper food, as well as his continued usage of rugby, his illness recurred.

"Nibalik siya (Isyot) diri. Limpyo na siya. Kabawo na motubag. Tagaan nimog sigarilyo unya 'Di man ko manigarilyo,' ana siya. Mangita na siyag trabaho. Mangutana na siya, 'Aha man ta makasulod og construction?' Maligo na pud siya," narrates Leo.

"Nadugay kay wa may tarong kaon, way tarong tambal. So, nibalik na siyag ingon ana, nahugaw na sad," he added.

Isyot provides himself food from the leftovers of some karenderias in Tabo sa Banay I. He goes there once a day whenever he feels hungry.

Sometimes, he causes headaches among the owners of the karenderias.

"Sige na siyag pangayo diri. Usahay mangilog," complains Ruth, 26.

Lorna Piencenaves, 41, an owner of a karenderia, is among the many who give Isyot leftovers. She inherited the 23-year-old karenderia from her mother and has been a witness to Isyot's pitiful plight. She said Isyot was once a drummer of a rock band based in the city. Since his group performed very well, it was recruited to Japan.

His stay in Japan was said to be the primary cause of his madness and it worsened because of his addiction to rugby when he got back home.

Lorna said Isyot's wife was a teacher and they lived near the Cebu City Medical Center with their three children.

She said that Isyot's wife left him because he would beat the kids.

Dr. Jocelyn Abellana, of the DOH Central Visayas' Technical Assistance for Health and Program Section, could not blame these people if they become hazardous at times.

"There is something wrong with them. They are no longer thinking on the normal level," she said.

She added most of the psychotic vagrants have schizophrenia, a "mental illness that ravages the brain and causes the mind lose its ability to integrate thought, emotion and behavior." Schizophrenia could be due to staying in the streets for a very long time without food.

To somehow aid the psychotic vagrants roaming around the city, the Cebu City Anti-Mendicancy Task Force, headed by Isabelita Ganob, has tried rescuing them from the streets. The task force would then bring them to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) Psychiatric Ward for medication.

Ludivina Almendra, a social welfare officer of the Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS) and the secretary of the task force, said that after the hospital gives these people preliminary treatments they will be referred back to their families.

However, the Psychiatric Ward has been having difficulties in returning the psychotic vagrants to their kin.

"From our survey, the reasons why we cannot hand home those in chronic cases, one, we cannot locate the families; another, though we are able to locate them, the families won't accept their kin," says Dr. Abellana.

Dr. Renato Obra, officer-in-charge of the VSMMC Psychiatric Ward, cited an instance where they brought a patient to his relatives in a subdivision but were just ignored.

Dr. Abellana said that these psychotic vagrants need their families because they need special care. She said these people have to be nourished with food and medicine.

"They have to take their medicines everyday and that's lifetime! If you gave them medicine, they will act normal. Stop giving them, and then they'll go back," says Dr. Abellana.