Convicted former Masbate vice mayor escapes from jail

MANILA, Philippines – A former vice mayor of Masbate, who was convicted for the murder of the late Masbate Rep. Moises Espinosa, escaped from the provincial jail hours before his transfer to the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa on Monday.

Masbate provincial warden Ricardo Bolanon told The STAR that former Vice Mayor Jun Fernandez escaped from the provincial jail at around 4:30 a.m. on June 22.

Bolanon said Fernandez escaped while seven provincial jailguards were conducting rounds in the jail premises.

“Akala raw nung mga guards eh naka-locked yung selda. In fact, nung tumakas sya nung June 22, we were processing his transfer to NBP,” said Bolanon.

Despite the apparent opportunity for other inmates to escape, only Fernandez took advantage of escaping from the jail institution.

Bolanon said Fernandez was supposed to be transferred to NBP but jail officials are completing the requirements, including the court order of conviction, records from the Court of Appeals handling the case and his medical records.

The warden said he placed all the seven provincial jailguards under investigation as he maintained that the escape was isolated.

“All our jailguards are now trying to locate Fernandez,” added Bolanon, who pointed out that there was no money involved in the incident since one of the jailguards was a relative of the late Congressman Espinosa.

According to Espinosa’s daughter Maloli, they have been for several years now, requesting Fernandez’s transfer to NBP in Muntinlupa but “the court order was never implemented.”

Records showed Espinosa was gunned down at the Masbate airport in 1989, seconds after he had stepped off a plane from Manila.

In 1995, Moises’ brother Rep. Tito Espinosa was murdered near the Batasang Pambansa complex in suburban Quezon City.

In 2001, Moises’ son, Masbate City mayor Moises Espinosa Jr., was murdered while attending a fiesta. He was mayor for only 40 days.

It can be recalled that Albert Cho, who escaped from the Masbate provincial jail on April 4, was recently killed in a shootout by policemen in pursuit of kidnapping suspects in Parañaque City.

Cho was implicated in the murder of the late Espinosa Jr.