Region-wide manhunt underway
BACOLOD CITY , Philippines — A region-wide manhunt operation in Western Visayas has been launched for the recapture of 13 inmates who escaped the Sagay City District Jail in Negros Occidental last Wednesday (April 17) around 5:30 p.m. by assaulting the jailguards.
Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, acting Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) director, said he has alerted the Police Regional Office 6 of the jailbreak, which in turn ordered a region-wide manhunt for the inmates.
The Sagay City Police, the NOPPO and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Sagay have dispatched teams to help in the pursuit operations of the fugitives.
All exit points in Negros Occidental are now under close monitoring, as the police believed that the escaped inmates have not gone out of this province yet, de la Paz said in an interview yesterday. Photos of these inmates have been distributed in sea ports, airports and bus terminals and other strategic places where the inmates are likely to pass through, he said.
De la Paz said the PNP is asking the help of the Philippine Army in recapturing the inmates. “They could have possibly escaped to the mountainous areas so the Army would be a big help in recapturing them,†he said.
Chief Insp. Edel Jose Manzano, Sagay City Police chief, said initial investigation showed that inmate Rolando Bajo Jr., 22, pointed a gun at jail guard Jover Valenzuela, while another inmate identified as Rey Villanueva took the guard’s .38-caliber revolver and cellular phone.
While other inmates pointed sharp objects at jail guard Francis Ballador, Bajo fired at the padlock of the jail’s main gate using the .38 caliber revolver that led to their escape. They fled on foot to an undetermined direction, the report of Manzano said.
This happened while the jail guards had just finished the headcount and told the inmates to go back to their respective cells, he said.
Aside from Bajo and Villanueva, other escaped inmates were: Joemar Libester, 26, Jimmy Vistar, 18, Richard Dacal-Dacal, 28, Armando Dilao, 24, Jolito Subteniente, 26, Jonard Quirante, 22, Gilbert Manija, 24, Marjon Bandala, 24, Eric Cordero, 18, Resty Dacal-Dacal, 22, Jeck and Espanola, 24, according to Manzano.
De la Paz said the gun may have been brought in earlier in the day by a female visitor who was not properly frisked by jail guard upon her entry. He said the jail guards on duty will be charged with gross negligence for these lapses.
The Sagay jail located in Barangay Rizal, three kilometers from the city proper, had 115 inmates but with the jailbreak, 102 remain, Manzano added.
De la Paz said the escaped inmates are facing heinous crimes charges ranging from murder, frustrated murder, drugs, physical injuries to rape. “They should be re-captured to give justice to their victims,†he said. (FREEMAN)
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