Sorsogon jail riot traced to food ration mistake

LEGAZPI CITY—A riot on Friday that resulted in injuries to two inmates at the Sorsogon provincial jail in Sorsogon City was all because the food ration went to the wrong hands, according to a police official.

Citing reports from jail personnel, Senior Supt. Bernard Banac, police director of Sorsogon City, said darts began flying when the meal ration intended for “Sputnik Gang” members occupying one cell was mistakenly given to their rivals from the “Bahala Na Gang” in the opposite cell.

Jail guards quelled the riot that lasted for 30 minutes, Banac said.

Two inmates, identified as Norman Balaguer and Ariel Arana, were wounded and brought to the hospital. It was not known if both were already out of danger or brought back to their cells.

Banac said the darts could have been secretly brought to the cells while the other improvised weapons used—sharp steel bars, hollow blocks and other pointed objects—came from materials used in the construction of a comfort room at the jail.

The facility is operated by the provincial government of Sorsogon.

It was not the first time that a riot involving the two gangs erupted inside the jail, Banac said. In 2012, Rommel Lanuza, a member of the Sputnik Gang, was stabbed dead, when members of his gang fought with those from Bahala Na.