1 Basilan jail escapee killed, 1 wounded, 6 others still on the run

ZAMBOANGA CITY—One of the inmates who escaped from the Basilan provincial jail on Tuesday (Oct. 13) was killed while another was wounded during a manhunt by military and police hours after the jailbreak.

Lt. Col. Homer Dumalag, police chief of Isabela City in Basilan province, identified the slain inmate as Torotoy Abbas and his wounded companion as Mahad Hassan, a resident of Sumisip town.

The two were among eight inmates who bolted the jail after killing a prison guard.

Dumalag said the manhunt for the remaining six escapees continued.

“We work alongside the military for the immediate recapture of the six,” Dumalag said in a phone interview. “These inmates are charged with murder and they are all dangerous,” he said.

Five of the six remaining escapees—Battuh Kusain, Gappal Saripada, Nurhasan Lahaman, Albaser Ahmad and Kaliji Hadjirul—are facing cases of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder.

The sixth, Hernie Asao, was charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Investigation said the inmates had planned the jailbreak driven by fear of conviction for the serious crimes they had been charged with.

According to investigators, the jailbreak started around 6 p.m. on Tuesday when an inmate, Jim Edgano Espino, was closing the cell. One of the escapees, Lahaman, pointed a .45 caliber pistol at Espino to prevent the cell’s closure.

Lahaman and seven others got out of the cell and as they headed toward the exit encountered jail guard Asbi Sali (not Asbi Sali Asbi in a previous report). Lahaman, said to be a member of Abu Sayyaf, shot and killed Sali and took the guard’s service pistol and an M-14 rifle.

The eight inmates escaped through the jail’s main gate.

When the escapees reached Salain Drive at Sumagdang village, they stole two motorcycles and a tricycle then fled to the direction of Kumalarang village.

In the manhunt, authorities caught up with Abbas just inside Sumagdang village and Hassan at Calvario village.

Dumalag appealed to residents to report sightings of the fugitives as they also distributed and posted mug shots of the escapees in public places.

Checkpoints manned by soldiers and policemen had been set up in the city.

TSB