CPPO’s Valmoria to implement one-strike policy for jailbreaks

Immediate relief looms for police station chiefs around Cebu Province if inmates under their custody would manage to escape.

This was contained in recent order of Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director Sr. Supt. Carmelo Valmoria.

Valmoria gave the order after eight people detained at a makeshift cell of the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) inside the CPPO headquarters, escaped last week.

Seven of the eight are now in the custody of the Regional Intelligence Division (RID)-7 after they surrendered.

Valmoria said that precautionary measures must be taken to prevent another jailbreak incident.

A total of 11 people bolted jail since January – three at Consolacion and the eight from the CPPO headquarters.

“These incidents manifested our weak points in terms of jail management and supervision that would adversely affect our performance as law enforcers,” Valmoria said in his memorandum issued to all station commanders in the province.

In the memorandum, Valmoria directed police chiefs to conduct an ocular inspection of their detention facilities and structures.  He also wants the law enforcers to have knowledge on basic jail management and supervision.

“They will be relieved and subject for investigation under the doctrine of command responsibility,” Valmoria said.

Station chiefs would also be required to submit every first day of the month the list of inmates and the status of their cases.

BACK IN JAIL

Now in the custody of the RID-7 are Joseph Reville, Anselmo Saz Jr., Johnrel Aguanta, Anecito Angtiampo, Jestoni Cantal, Irideo Carlo and a 17-year old.

Junie Cabosas, who allegedly masterminded the escape, remains at large.  The seven said that they were able to escape when no one from the PIB or the gate guards came to check on them even if Cabosas was making a lot of noise.

The alleged mastermind was able to bend some parts of the cell door until it gave way. When it was open, all of them crawled outside the cell and slipped through the barbed wires.

The guards of the PIB and the personnel of RID-7 are now under investigation after giving conflicting versions of how the prisoners escaped.

The version of the inmates however matches the statement of the RID operatives.

The eight were taken to the PIB for detention by agents of the RID as they were scheduled to attend a hearing of the drug charges filed against them.  The RID has no holding area for prisoners.  They were arrested at an alleged drug den in the town of San Fernando.

When brought to the CPPO, Supt, Juanito Enguerra, chief of the PIB would not accept the inmates unless the RID personnel could bring with them an order of live bodies and a padlock since the lock of the container van used as cell was defective.

It was only when the RID personnel came back with the order and the padlock, that the prisoners were accepted by the PIB.  Personnel of the PIB would not however claim responsibility for the escape as they alleged that the eight were brought out of the camp by the RID personnel so that they could eat dinner. 

This claim was vehemently denied by the RID as they said the food was brought to the detention facility and not the inmates were brought outside to eat. — Garry B. Lao /NLQ