THE head of Tudela Police Station and the police escort are under investigation by the Police Regional Office (PRO 7) in relation to the escape of their Person Under Police Custody (PUPC), who was scheduled to appear in court in Danao City on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
According to PRO 7 spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, the purpose of the investigation is to ascertain what crime the police official who escorted Rodel Nudalo, a 41-year-old prisoner from Sitio Pamatasan, Barangay Poblacion, San Francisco town, Camotes Island, committed.
If the police escort will be found guilty, he will face administrative charges, including Tudela Police Station Chief Captain Leovil Singson, who is in overall command, and it is likely that they would be relieved of their duties.
To recall, Police Corporal Hercules Arguedo escorted Nudalo and two other PUPCs from Tudela town on Camotes Island to Danao City to attend a court hearing.
But since they arrived early in Danao and the hearing had not yet started, they decided to eat breakfast at a nearby restaurant.
After eating, Nudalo got up to get a toothpick, and hurriedly ran outside.
His police escort tried to catch up with him, but he got lost after entering into a residential alleyway.
Nudalo was recaptured around 1 a.m. of the following day, April 3, after his live-in partner informed the authorities that he intended to turn himself in and that he had just escaped to see her. (AYB, TPT)