MANILA, Philippines–More than 180 inmates escaped before dawn Thursday from Leyte provincial jail in the calamity-torn Palo town reportedly due to hunger.
Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, Philippine National Police spokesperson, confirmed the jailbreak of 182 out of 431 inmates around 4:50 a.m. in Barangay (village) Kauswagan in Palo.
Mayor quoted Chief Superintendent Henry Losanes, Eastern Visayas regional director, as saying the prisoners bolted due to “lack of food, poor living condition and slow judicial process.”
According to Losanes, they were able to recapture 150 inmates, who were immediately put back into the custody of Leyte provincial jail.
But the regional director clarified that the escapees were those who are not notorious. Police said they were the ones who came back after seeking temporary shelter when the jail was flooded at the height of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”
In Eastern Visayas alone, the highest number of Yolanda fatalities was recorded, reaching more than 5,000 deaths.
Prior to the escape of prisoners, the jail guards manning the main gate went inside the facility to replenish their supply of coffee. The
inmates then took advantage of the slack in security.
Based on the roster of Leyte provincial jail, there were 60 guards who are grouped by 15 per shift.
Police said tracker teams were also formed to conduct pursuit operation for the remaining 32 escapees.
Mayor said Leyte Governor Dominico Petilla has already been informed by the provincial director of the Police Provincial Office about the
jailbreak.
Losanes, meanwhile, added that the prisoners’ relatives constructed kubol-kubol or huts surrounding the facility after the destruction
brought by Yolanda.
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