Cataroja escaped NBP by clinging under a garbage truck – BuCor

Like a scene in a movie, maximum security inmate Michael Cataroja reenacts how he managed to squeeze himself into a small space underneath a garbage truck that went to collect trash at the New Bilibid Prison in order to get out of the jail facility. He was rearrested several weeks later in Rizal province. (Photo courtesy of BuCor)

MANILA, Philippines — Rearrested maximum security inmate Michael Cataroja, who went missing last July, escaped from New Bilibid Prison (NBP) by clinging underneath a garbage truck, according to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

In a video from the BuCor, Cataroja reenacted how he inserted himself in a small space at the bottom of the garbage truck to get out of the Maximum Security Compound of the state penitentiary in Muntinlupa City.

Cataroja showed this before the board of inquiry (BOI), which BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. formed to determine who helped the former escape NBP.

The BOI comprises Deputy Director General for Administration Al Perreras, Deputy Director General for Operations Gil Torralba, and Atty. Ferdinand Balduman, chief of the Intelligence and Investigation Division.

Last August 17, BuCor confirmed that Cataroja was alive and was rearrested by Angono police personnel in Rizal. He was turned over to the NBP on August 18.

Based on reports, Cataroja was sent to BuCor on July 26 last year for violating Presidential Decree 1612 or the Anti-Fencing Law.

On October 20 of the same year, he was transferred to the Maximum Security Compound due to a pending carnapping case.

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JPV