6 of 16 QC escapees back in Cubao jail

MANILA, Philippines—Six of the 16 detainees who escaped from the Quezon City Police District’s (QCPD’s) Cubao station in the wee hours of Dec. 31 were back behind bars on Thursday.

Three of them were arrested by QCPD tracker teams while two—including a rape and robbery suspect—were surrendered by their families, said district director Senior Supt. Joel Pagdilao. A sixth escapee turned himself in.

First to be returned was Roberto Lacaba, 25, who was brought back by his mother hours after the jailbreak, followed by Benedicto Guinto, 18, who was arrested Wednesday night.

Recaptured by tracker teams on Thursday were Rigor Alejandria, 30, a theft suspect; and Thomas Evan Labutong, who had been booked for possession of deadly weapons. Both were arrested around noontime in Camachile and Barangay (village) Kaunlaran, respectively, in Quezon City.

John Patrick Dionido, a rape and robbery suspect, was surrendered by his wife to the police in Navotas, Pagdilao said.

Later on Thursday, frustrated homicide suspect Emerson Castro surrendered to the Cubao station around 5:30 p.m.

Pagdilao said four of the returned detainees pointed to Lacaba as the brains behind the jailbreak.

All claimed that they escaped because they sorely missed their loved ones, he said. “But their families are allowed to visit them regularly,” the official explained in an Inquirer interview.

The jailbreak led to the removal of Cubao station commander Supt. Wilson de los Santos for serious neglect of duty.

Around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, 16 of the station’s 53 detainees sneaked out through a hole on their cell’s ceiling, after sawing off the steel bars. They did it while the desk officer on duty, SPO1 Jade Gavina, was using the toilet, De los Santos said in his report.