Informants rewarded for helping recapture inmates who bolted Basilan jail

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — Three civilians have received cash rewards totaling P700,000 for helping authorities capture three inmates who bolted the Basilan provincial jail last month.

Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman lauded the informants on Saturday, saying they were instrumental in getting the inmates back in jail.

The three inmates, who are facing cases for serious crimes, were among eight who bolted the jail last Oct. 13. As they were escaping, one of them grabbed the gun of a jail guard and killed him.

“We need to offer reward money because those three are really notorious. If we don’t offer a reward, these inmates may sow havoc again, and we don’t want this to happen,” Salliman said.

The identities of the informants were kept secret for security reasons. One of them received P300,000 while the two others received P200,000 pesos each.

The recaptured inmates were identified as Hernie Asao, who is charged with illegal possession of explosives and firearms; Nurhassan Lahaman, who is charged with two counts of murder; and Kaliji Hadjirul, who is charged with murder.

They were captured barely a week after escaping.