7 inmates hurt in Bulacan jail shootout in stable condition

MALOLOS CITY — The seven inmates of the Bulacan provincial jail, who were wounded in a shooting incident late Thursday night, are now in stable condition, a provincial official said yesterday.

Provincial administrator Ma. Gladys Sta. Rita told The STAR that four of the seven wounded inmates have been brought back to the provincial jail after they were treated for gunshot wounds in the provincial hospital.

She said two out of the three remaining wounded inmates have undergone surgery and are now recuperating.

As a standard operating procedure, Sta. Rita said they have suspended the inmates’ privileges, including visits from their families, adding, though, that this has been explained to the detainees and their relatives.

Sta. Rita said provincial jail warden Ariel Santiago and the nine jail guards who were on duty during the incident have been relieved from their posts pending the results of the police investigation.

They have been subjected to alcohol and gunpowder burn tests due to reports that they were engaged in a drinking spree inside the provincial jail to celebrate Santiago’s birthday when the incident happened.

Sta. Rita said the results of the investigation will be used as basis for the filing of formal administrative and criminal charges against those responsible for the shooting.

"Initially, we have suspended Santiago and nine jail guards, but we still have to find out if there were more people involved in the incident (because of) reports that there were off-duty jail guards there," she said.

According to the police, the inmates caused the melee when they snatched and beat up jail guard Joselino Cayetano, purportedly to conceal a plan to stage a jailbreak.

Santiago and some of the jail guards, according to police reports, came to the rescue of Cayetano but they were allegedly fired upon, prompting them to shoot back.

The incident left inmate Jessielyn Macawili dead, and fellow inmates Rolando Ramos, Jessie Cañete, Allain Janer, Cyrus Vidal, Dennis Garcia, Dante Fuentes and Reynaldo Bonacruz wounded.