Suspect in local broadcaster’s murder escapes in Pagadian City

Pagadian City (shaded in red) (Image from Google Maps)

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Two policemen are in hot water and facing possible dismissal after the inmate facing charges for the murder of a local radio broadcaster escaped under their watch inside a hospital in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur.

Police Brigadier General Emmanuel Licup, regional director of the Police Regional Office in Zamboanga Peninsula (PRO-9), said that Police Corporal Elmo P. Fadri and Police Corporal James L. Luague, both assigned at the Labangan Municipal Police Station, were “undergoing pre-charge evaluation and further summary dismissal hearing.”

The two policemen are now being held at the Aisah Hospital in San Pedro District, Pagadian City where the inmate, identified as Arnaiz Alam Cabaro alias “Cabib,” managed to escape on Friday, Licup said on Saturday, April 27.

Cabaro, who was accused of murdering local broadcaster Carlos Matas, escaped at around 12:20 p.m. on April 26 from the Aisah Hospital, where he was brought by the two policemen from the detention facility in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur after complaining of chest pain.

READ: Radio blocktimer slain in Zamboanga del Sur ambush

Labangan is about 19 kilometers away, or about 30 minutes by vehicle, from Pagadian City.

Cabaro is facing murder and direct assault charges in connection with the killing of Matas, a blocktimer radio broadcaster based in Labangan, on May 2, 2018 in Barangay Nuburan, Labangan.

Licup said he ordered for a manhunt operation against Cabaro and has alerted all the neighboring police units and other law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the escapee. /jpv