Wednesday, November 21, 2007 With foul weather for cover, 7 minors escape
SEVEN youth offenders took advantage of the bad weather last Monday night and escaped from the Cebu City Operation Second Chance (CCOSC) facility in Kalunasan, Cebu City.
Two, including the group’s alleged leader, were recaptured during a manhunt.
A day before the seven escaped, two minors bolted from the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (RRCY) in Argao town in southern Cebu by scaling the fence.
Senior Insp. Jennifer Joyce Abar, OSC warden, said in a radio interview that based on their initial findings, the escapees sawed off the metal bars of their cell using a triangular blade they’ve been using in their workshops.
CCOSC officials found out about the jailbreak only at dawn yesterday.
The escapees sawed off the iron grills that led to a basketball court, usually deserted at night. Upon reaching the basketball court, the boys then sawed off the cyclone wire of the perimeter fence.
Abar said that the group’s leader revealed the whereabouts of the five other escapees, who are now being hunted by at least six law enforcement teams.
As of press time, there were no other details about the escapees except that they are facing cases for robbery, theft, illegal possession of firearms and for violating the gun ban.
The escape surprised and disappointed Cebu City First Lady Margot Osmeña, who said that the jail guards did not inform the CCOSC management board.
Osmeña said she only learned about the incident from reporters who called to interview her about it yesterday afternoon.
When she checked with the social workers assigned at the facility, Osmeña said that’s when she verified the report, but she also was not able to get details on the incident.
“The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is the one in charge of security. My concern is that we were not informed that there were escapees. I don’t want to judge them or hold them responsible for this but we can recommend and I think they do have to explain,” she told Sun.Star Cebu.
Osmeña is co-chairperson of the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children and sits as a member of the management board of CCOSC.
“I have not heard from BJMP and they have to talk. They have to explain what happened and why we weren’t informed about this. As for the children, they have to be treated humanely and we have to find out why they escaped,” she said.
As for the two minors from the RRCY, center chief Bibiana Horvath said the two 17-year-old minors escaped Sunday night.
Horvath told Sun.Star Cebu that they have informed the police of the escape as part of their standard operating procedure.
The boys were suspected of committing theft.
Horvath, however, said the escape is not unusual for those youth who were just placed in the facility.
One of the boys who escaped was just sent to the center Saturday. His companion, on the other hand, had been in the RRCY for three weeks.
Both are from Cebu City.
“It’s not uncommon for them to get homesick. Most city kids don’t adjust right away to their life here,” explained Horvath.
The RRCY in Candabong, Argao is a facility where young offenders are prepared for reintegration in society.
Once caught, the two minors will be sent back to the RRCY where they will face the committee on discipline. (KNT/LCR/JGA)
