2 escapees killed in ambush shortly after bolting Southern Leyte jail

Six detainees were able to escape at around 4:30 am by cutting the rounded steel bar of San Pedro City Police Station’s detention cell in San Pedro Laguna on May 23, 2017. (File picture)

TACLOBAN CITY — Two escapees from Southern Leyte Provincial Jail (SLPJ) were killed while another was wounded in an ambush on Wednesday (April 24).

The incident took place less than four hours after they bolted the facility in Maasin City, Southern Leyte.

Melchor Maceda, 40, Paul John Seguerra and Claudio Montilla, 33, were on one motorcycle when they were attacked by still unidentified gunmen in Barangay Asuncion, Maasin, at 2:55 a.m.

Maceda and Seguerra were killed on the spot while Montilla was wounded and brought to a hospital in Maasin where he was confined.

Maceda and Montilla were facing murder charges, while Seguerra was detained for illegal drugs.

Police Sergeant Jierve Laro, officer-on-case of the Maasin City police station, said that based on the report from SLPJ, the three inmates escaped from the facility by scaling the fence around 11 p.m. on Tuesday (April 23).

Laro said after their escape, the group went to Macrohon town, about 20 km from Maasin, to visit a relative.

While heading back to Maasin, Laro said the victims were ambushed by a group of unidentified men on board a vehicle.

Recovered from the crime scene were seven shell casing from a .45 caliber pistol.

When asked about the possibility that the inmates did not actually escape but rather left the jail facility with assistance, Laro stated that their investigation was still ongoing.

“We are considering revenge as a potential motive. Relatives of their victims could be implicated in this incident,” Laro said.