Escapee remains elusive

For the second time, a Mandaue City inmate who escaped his jail escorts slipped away from athorities in a botched recapture yesterday in Liloan town, north Cebu.

Mandaue police went to barangay Bajac, Liloan about 1 a.m. after being tipped off that Ricky Andujar was hiding in his aunt’s house there.

Another team from the Mandaue city jail also arrived. While SJO2 Jaime Cobol approached to talk to the house owner, a man in black jumped out the window and ran off. A warning shot was fired but the man, believed to be Andujar, was gone.

The inmate escaped last Tuesday after attending a court hearing at the Mandaue City Hall of Justice. He slipped out of his handcuffs and orange prison T-shirt while his escorts were several meters away chatting.

The jail warden Supt. Jessie Calumpang was relieved from his post as part of command responsibility. Andujar’s escort from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology JO2 YOlando Salazr was also transferred to the Consolacion jail pending further investigation.

In yesterday’s botched opeartion, Senior Insp. Wilson Abot of the Mandaue police said there should have been proper coordination between the two teams that went to the target house in Liloan.

Abot said they could have arrested Andujar if there was a proper coordination between the police and BJMP.

Chief Insp. Gil Inopia Jr. yesterday assumed the post as the new jail warden of the Mandaue City Jail.

In a press conference, Inopia said he would tighten jail escort measures to avoid another escape./CORRESPONDENTS FE MARIE D. DUMABOC AND NORMAN V. MENDOZA