6 jail guards charged

Charges were filed on Wednesday afternoon against six guards assigned at the Parañaque City Jail in connection with the escape of three Chinese detainees last week.

The criminal and administrative charges were filed with the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office by Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) investigator Senior Jail Officer 3 Rosendo Macabasag and Parañaque City Police head investigator Chief Insp. Enrique Sy.

Charged were Jail Officer (JO) 1 Richard Sillatoc who is accused of facilitating the escape of suspected drug traffickers Chan Tong Lou, Wai Leung and Long Zong; JO2 Jimmy Zapata, duty desk officer at the time of the escape; JO1 Jesus Baguinon, the guard on duty; Senior Jail Officer 3 Benjamin Olimen, the day officer; JO2 Julius Dizon, who was supposed to be the desk officer at that time but was absent; and JO1 Al-Yasser Sabdani.

Sillatoc was charged with infidelity in the custody of a prisoner, particularly in conniving and consenting to the escape. He was also recommended for dismissal for grave misconduct.

On the other hand, Zapata, Olimen and Dizon were charged with serious neglect of duty; Baguinon with abandoning his post; and Sabdani, for his failure to inform the day officer of the jailbreak.

Sy told the Inquirer that the charges were based on the findings of “Task Force Quatro” which was tasked to probe the jailbreak in addition to a review made of the footage taken by closed circuit television cameras installed at the city jail.

The three Chinese nationals are suspected big-time drug traffickers who were arrested in February during a buy-bust operation in Parañaque City. They yielded P1 billion worth of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).