7 inmates bolt jail; 5 at large

THE Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) is now conducting a manhunt operation after five inmates from the camp’s custodial facility escaped on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at around 11 p.m.

According to Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, CPPO chief, there were a total of seven inmates who escaped through a hole in the cell walls made using a stainless steel spoon, unbeknownst to the officers on duty.

During a follow-up operation, two of the seven escaped inmates were immediately apprehended while the other five namely, Alucio Llamedo, Marcelo Geronggay, Edjon Carbantes, Jorsua Burgos and Jave Pongcol are still at large.

All charged with cases on illegal drugs, the suspects were arrested by the Provincial Intelligence Branch in Talisay City and Dumanjug last week.

Based on the information received by the police, the five are headed to Sudlon, a mountainous area in Cebu City and will proceed to Mananga in Talisay City.

The three officers who were on duty during the incident are now under investigation, have been relieved from duty and could face administrative charges.

Mariano has already enlisted the help of the Cebu City Police Office in finding the remaining five suspects, who are most likely passing through the mountainous areas of Cebu.

Mariano disclosed that there were 13 inmates in the cell, seven escaped but the remaining six did not follow suit.

These inmates have also been questioned by the police and are under investigation.

Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of the Police Regional Office 7, will see to it that the jailer during the incident will be held accountable as this is a major lapse in service.

He has already conducted the investigation on the three police officers and if major offenses are proven, they could be terminated from duty.

“One of the lapses that we were able to find out was that the jailer failed to do a regular check on those who are being detained, so I instructed the provincial director to initiate a check on how we could reinforce the different grills or the safeguarding of the temporary custodial facility,” said Ferro.

Ferro also speculates that the three police officers might have fallen asleep while on duty.

The three officers could be facing jail time of six months and a day as a violation of Article 224 of the Revised Penal Code provision to negligence.

This is also a grave offense as stated in Rule 21 Section 2 Paragraph C of the National Police Commission memorandum circular 2016-002.

Ferro is appealing to the public that if anyone has any idea on the escaped inmates’ whereabouts, he must call the nearest police station immediately. (AYB, GPL / CBQ)