Batangas jail escapee slain in shootout with police

SAN PEDRO CITY –– A man, who escaped from prison in Balayan town in Batangas province was shot and killed in a shootout with pursuing policemen, authorities said on Thursday.

Balayan police chief Captain Jeffrey Dallo, in a phone interview, said detainee Salvador de Ocampo figured in a shootout around noon Wednesday after authorities found him hiding in a fishing boat off Balayan bay.

Police were still investigating how de Ocampo got his gun, a .38 caliber pistol.

Police records show that de Ocampo was arrested in October for murder.

Dallo said de Ocampo and fellow detainee Roderico Legaspi, who faced drug charges, escaped around 3:30 a.m. on Dec 31, by starting a fire inside their cell.

As the smoke cleared, police realized that the two had also cracked a hole on the cell’s concrete wall through which they escaped.

For two days, the police conducted a manhunt in the coastal Barangay Palikpikan, where the escapees were reportedly sighted.

“We also learned that they stole a fishing boat at one point but later abandoned the vessel when it ran out of fuel,” Dallo said.

On Wednesday, police were tipped off that a man had been hiding in a fishing boat off the shore.

Dallo said de Ocampo refused to surrender and fired shots at the approaching policemen. Police shot back and killed de Ocampo instantly.

Dallo said Legaspi, who reportedly left to find them food, was recaptured in the vicinity hours later.

Edited by Lzb