16 inmates face raps for jail violence

Police are readying criminal charges against 16 inmates involved in Friday’s violence inside the district jail in Antique.

Chief Inspector Gilbert Gorero, police chief of the capital town of San Jose, said on Sunday that the inmates would be charged with murder or homicide, illegal possession of firearms and explosives, and grave threats.

Investigators have identified Christopher Fernando, Lloyd Francisco and two other inmates who were directly involved in the killing of jail guard Romar Saquibal.

Saquibal died from a bullet wound in the nape after he was overpowered and disarmed by inmates wielding two handguns and a grenade.

The inmates also held hostage 156 other detainees, but surrendered after a six-hour standoff.

Fernando and Franciso remained detained at the San Jose police station while 14 others were moved to the provincial jail.

Gorero said the inmates who threw a handgun and grenade over the jail’s concrete wall which were used in the standoff had already been identified.

The inmates told investigators that they staged the standoff to demand their transfer to another facility as the current one was overcrowded.

The regional police and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) have formed a joint team to determine possible lapses and liabilities of jail personnel that led to the incident.

Chief Superintendent Cipriano Querol Jr., Western Visayas police director, said the team would also look into the motives of the inmates. Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas