MANILA, Philippines — Eddie Garcia suffered neither a heart attack nor an aneurysm.
Doctors ruled out the initial assessment following a series of tests but said the 90-year-old actor fractured his neck, apparently while taping a scene for an upcoming drama series on Saturday morning in Tondo, Manila.
“He’s in critical condition due to severe cervical fracture,” Garcia’s family doctor Enrique Lagman said in a statement obtained by the Inquirer.
“They ruled out the first heart attack and stroke prognosis made around 2 p.m., after those were disproved by several validating tests later in the evening,” Lagman said.
In an online video taken by Facebook user Mhervien Maco, the veteran actor-director — sporting a black jacket and wielding a prop rifle — seemed to have tripped on a wire while entering the frame, causing him to stagger and fall face first onto the ground.
Photos taken by Facebook user Glaysa Apoya show Garcia, who appears to be unconscious, being lifted and carried by men on the set.
Jestoni Alarcon, one of Garcia’s costars in “Rosang Agimat”—the working title of the television show they were working on—saw his senior colleague bleeding after his fall.
Garcia was rushed to nearby Mary Johnston Hospital.
Footage review
In an official statement, GMA Network—the producer of the show—said it was “seriously reviewing” various footage of the incident.
“The video of Mr. Garcia faltering in his steps and eventually collapsing has reached GMA. We’re seriously reviewing the said video, as well as other videos of the same scene that our cameras also took, before we make any conclusions on what really transpired,” the statement read.
Upon learning about what had happened to Garcia, outgoing Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada went to Mary Johnston, hoping to have his close friend airlifted to a bigger hospital.
“Erap visited him yesterday. He was looking for a way to airlift Tito Ed. However, Mary Johnston doesn’t have a landing field,” screenwriter-director Bibeth Orteza, a friend of Garcia’s longtime partner Lilibeth Romero, told the Inquirer.
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, Garcia was moved to Makati Medical Center.
As the family requested prayers for his fast recovery, show biz personalities took to social media to express support for the industry stalwart under the hashtag inspired by his famous moniker: #LabanManoy.