The few minutes that a policeman-jailer took to eat lugaw (porridge) at a stall beside the old Police Station 3 in Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City were all the four detainees needed to escape from the station’s detention cell.
PO2 Jude Salazar, the duty jailer, returned from his break and found the cell empty at 8:20 a.m.
The four detainees were able to partly cut and bend the steel bars, creating enough space to squeeze out.
“I only left to eat. I locked the cell but they cut the steel bars using a saw,” said PO2 Salazar in Cebuano.
He said he didn’t know how the detainees got hold of a steel cutter.
Those who escaped were Junry Iran, 21, and Albert Torregoza, 24, who were detained for theft; Benjamin Aparri, who was accused of robbery extortion; and Christopher Cernal, 20, the subject of a complaint for physical injury.
Salazar and his superior, Insp. Donald Genisto were immediately relieved from their post for the security breach.
Lapu-Lapu City Police Chief Lyndon Lawas had them transferred to the holding unit of the Lapu-Lapu police office.
After a hot pursuit operation, police recaptured er Cernal in his house in sitio Kinalumsan barangay Gun-ob while Torregoza was caught in his house in barangay Alegria, Cordova town.
The two other escapees remain at large.
Torregoza said they just followed one inmate, Benjamin Aparri who had planned the escape.
“He was homesick,” said the recaptured detainee.
Cernal told police that he followed the others escape because he was afraid he would be blamed for destroying the cell if he was left behind.
He said Iran kicked the steel bars to bend them Insp. Winston Penaranda was named the new police station chief.
“The jailer and the police chief must always inspect the detention cell facility as part of their job and to check on its status,” said Lawas.
He said an investigation would be made to determine if the two were liable for neglect of duty.
Mayor Paz Radaza was informed about the escape.
She told Lawas to update her about the manhunt for the two detainees at large and the investigation of the two police officers.