MANILA, Philippines — Pasay City police chief Col. Froilan Uy was relieved from his post yesterday to give way to an investigation into the escape of 10 detainees from the Malibay police substation 6 last Monday.
Uy will be replaced by Col. Gerson Bisayas, according to Southern Police District director Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft.
Maj. Jerry Sunga, commander of the substation, and jailer on duty S/Sgt. Ariston Arid were also relieved.
In a press conference at the Pasay city hall yesterday, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano lauded the police for capturing all the escapees within 48 hours.
Abalos said there should be “lessons learned” in the incident, such as the need to regularly inspect custodial facilities and to decongest jails.
Calixto-Rubiano ordered the police to conduct a routine inspection of custodial facilities and vowed to upgrade the police facilities.
The mayor also promised to coordinate with city judges to speed up the issuance of commitment orders in a bid to decongest the custodial facilities.
“We thank the authorities for rearresting the suspects without bloodshed,” Calixto-Rubiano said.
Arid, who was beaten up by the escapees, will face administrative charges, as well as the charge of evasion – or allowing the escape of a prisoner – through negligence, punishable under the Revised Penal Code, according to National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo.
The escapees will face charges of direct assault, attempted homicide and robbery with violence for attacking the jailer on duty and stealing his service firearm.
In an interview with The STAR, Uy said he will give way to the investigation and hand over the reins to his successor.
Bisayas, meanwhile, vowed to ensure the jailbreak would not happen again during his term as officer-in-charge.
The escapees were able to bolt out of the custodial facility by cutting through a steel bar and bending it.
The custodial facility at Malibay substation 6 was also congested, with 35 detainees in the cramped space.
“We are not jailers. We just hold them under custody while under investigation or awaiting a commitment order. But it will not stop us from doing our jobs,” Kraft told The STAR yesterday.
Eleven tracker teams were formed to capture the escapees, who face charges of illegal drugs, robbery and car theft: Norman Deyta, Joey Hernandez, Christian Salvatierra, Eden Garcia, Tirzo Galit, Joshua Panganiban, John Michael Cabe, Richard Dela Cruz, Carlo Benavidez and Romeo Estopa.
Arid’s firearm was recovered from Deyta, the alleged brains of the jailbreak, who is under custody for illegal drugs.