Six of 13 jail escapees in Negros recaptured

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—Police have recaptured six of the 13 inmates who escaped from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility in Sagay City, Negros Occidental last Wednesday.

Roland Bajo, 22, and Jake Española, 24, were collared at the bus terminal in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, about 5 p.m. on Friday, said Chief Insp. Gilbert Peremne, spokesman of the Western Visayas office of the BJMP.

The four others—Joemar Libester, 26; Jonard Quirante, 22; Jimmy Vistar, 18; and Jolito Subtentiente Jr., 26—were arrested at 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Hacienda Albina, Barangay Rafaela Barrera in Sagay City.

Peremne said the BJMP was offering a reward of P10,000 for information that would lead to the recapture of each of the seven remaining escapees, who were identified as Gilbert Maneja, Resty Dacaldacal, Richard Dacaldacal, Armando Dilao, Marjun Bandala, Rey Villanueva and Eric Cordero.

The 13 inmates escaped from BJMP jail in Sagay about 5 p.m. April 17 after Bajo pointed a .38-caliber revolver at jailguard Jover Valenzuela and disarmed him while other inmates pointed sharp objects at jailguard Francis Vallador.

Bajo then shot the padlock of the main entrance to the detention cell, enabling the 13 inmates to rush out and escape.

But 102 other inmates did not join the jailbreak and stayed at the Sagay BJMP jail, located in Barangay Rizal, about three kilometers from the city proper.

Senior Supt. Ignacio Panti, BJMP director for Western Visayas, relieved Chief Insector Benny Freddie Cobarde as BJMP Sagay jail warden because of the jailbreak.

Valenzuela and Ballador were also restricted to the Sagay City jail pending further investigation.

More personnel would also be assigned to the Sagay City jail on Monday to augment its security.

According to BJMP’s investigation, Peremne said,  the jailbreak was a form of protest against the alleged mismanagement of the jail under Cobarde.

Before the 13 escaped, the inmates had been complaining about Cobarde who they said was strict and refused to let them go out of their cells, said Senior Jail Officer 3 Leo Lacerna of the BJMP-6 Investigation and Prosecution Division.

Lacerna said Cobarde explained that he didn’t allow the inmates to roam around the BJMP compound because there were only a few jail officers on duty.