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CEBU CITY — At least eight of 17 children in conflict with the law (CICL) who escaped from a detention center here on Jan. 11 have been found and returned to the facility.
In a report on Thursday, the Cebu City police said it was still searching for the remaining nine CICL so they could be brought back to the Operation Second Chance Center (OSCC) here.
Their parents promised authorities to turn over their children to the OSCC once they find them.
The eight minors who were found by police officers claimed they bolted the center to witness activities for the Sinulog Festival on Jan. 15.
Most of the youth detainees who escaped on Wednesday are facing illegal drugs and murder charges. They are between 15 and 18 years old, OSCC records showed.
Tracker team
Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, information officer of the Cebu City police, said they created a tracker team to find the other children.
The team included an investigator from the Guadalupe police station, an officer from the police’s Women and Children Protection Desk and a social worker from the City Social Welfare Office.
Macatangay, citing the police’s initial investigation, said the 17 CICLs were preparing to take their breakfast past 6 a.m. on Wednesday when they ran toward the facility’s gate and escaped.
She said the guards were not able to stop the children because they were outnumbered.
Macatangay said they had not received any information on whether the youth detainees had complaints related to the operation of OSCC or on the way the facility’s administrators treat them.
It was not the first time that youth detainees escaped from the facility.
In December 2019, six detainees managed to escape following a riot that erupted inside OSCC. In April last year, 20 detainees were also able to escape.
All those who escaped from OSCC were eventually found and returned to the facility.