2 Bustos inmates escape

BUSTOS, Bulacan — It has been four days, and this town’s jail personnel were still scrambling yesterday to track down two inmates who got their freedom, thanks to a negligent guard.

The two escapees, identified as Gaudencio Miranda and Ramon Rentoria, sawed off the iron grill of the jail’s comfort room and fled between Sunday night and before dawn Monday while the on-duty jail guard, SPO1 Rogelio Cruz, was not looking.

Superintendent Eduardo de Guzman, this town’s police chief, warned that if the escapees, who face charges of murder, frustrated homicide and theft, are not recaptured within a week, he will file criminal and administrative charges against Cruz.

"It is his responsibility and he should have checked the cell from time to time to avoid such an incident," he said.

De Guzman cited reports that the jailbreakers were sighted in the town’s riverside area after the escape. But follow-up operations there yielded nothing, he said.

He said Miranda cannot return to his hometown in Nueva Ecija because he is wanted there for another murder case. — James Mananghaya