Cebu Provincial Intelligence Bureau Chief Police Superintendent Juanito Enguerra stood firm on his earlier statement that the eight detainees of San Fernando police escaped from the custody of the Regional Intelligence Division-7.
There are now conflicting versions on who was responsible and liable for the escape of the eight men who originally detained at the San Fernando Police Station after they were arrested by RID operatives last February 4 from a suspected drug den.
Enguerra reiterated that his men first refused to admit the eight arrested suspects because the RID men had no “turnover of living bodies” form at the time and that the padlock of their cell then was defective. The RID men however returned complete with the needed form and a new padlock to replace the defective one.
The jail guard at that time said that he signed the turnover form but then the RID personnel allegedly took the detainees out for supper first. This was denied by the RID men, saying that the detainees were already inside the detention cell when they left to buy food for the detainees. They added that when they returned, the eight detainees had escaped.
Enguerra, however, contested this claim. “Ang physical evidence pwede mamakak pero ang mga tawo nga gi-control pwede mamakak,” he told the members of the Defense Press Corps who he guided on a tour of the site of the alleged jailbreak.
Both the inmates and RID men had insisted that the escape was made possible because nobody from the provincial police or the gate guards were there to check despite the noises made by Junie Cabosas, the leader of the escapees. When the cell was opened, the eight allegedly crawled outside the cell and slipped through the barbed wires.
Enguerra find this statement “very strange” citing that there were no marks or clear evidence that the inmates indeed escaped from the hands of the provincial police. “Ang atong prisohan lapok kaayo ang gawas, nganong wala’y bisan gamay’ng lapok? Wala gani bisan markings,” he said while daring investigators to conduct a reenactment to determine the facts of the escape.
The PIB guards and RID personnel are now under investigation by the The Regional Investigation and Detective Management (RIDM)-7 to shed light on the conflicting versions of the jailbreak.
Enguerra said he did not know the reason of giving out conflicting statements. “Pero tan-aw nako aron lang gyud malikayan nila ang responsibilidad. Basta kami, wala sa among posisyon nga naka-escapo sila.”
Cabosas remained at large but his seven companions voluntarily surrendered to the San Fernando Police after their escape. They were also freed after posting bail yesterday.
Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director Sr. Supt. Carmelo Valmoria already ordered for the immediate relief of police station chiefs around Cebu province if inmates escape from their custody. He said that precautionary measures must be undertaken to prevent another jailbreak.
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. — Garry B. Lao/RAE