CPDRC escapee surrenders, but probe on guards still on

CEBU, Philippines - Renante “Bolatik” dela Rosa, who escaped from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) Thursday night, surrendered yesterday but this is not stopping the investigation on the jail guards and the warden.

Also, the wish of the inmates to have their families stay together overnight on December 24 may no longer be granted following dela Rosa’s escape.

The inmates had conveyed their wish to Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia who visited them on her birthday last Oct. 12. Garcia had tasked Capitol consultant on security, retired Col. Cesar Veloso, to find ways on how to handle logistical problem before the request would be granted.

Focus, however, is now on the warden and the guards on duty when dela Rosa managed to escape..

“What were they doing? Were they sleeping on the job? They have to explain,” Garcia said.

The Capitol’s Committee on Discipline and Investigation (CODI) is now investigating all jail and blue guards who were on duty last Thursday.

CPDRC Deputy Warden Reynaldo Pepito said dela Rosa could have passed through several areas before eventually reaching the outer wall of jail.

Dela Rosa reportedly escaped through the back door when the guard on duty was out to take his dinner, said surveillance officer Jason Villanueva.

Villanueva said dela Rosa was also caught in one of the surveillance cameras minutes before the jailbreak was reported.

  After passing through the back door, the suspect sneaked to the back of the jail kitchen unnoticed until he managed to reach tower four, which he climbed over.

Several blue guards, according to Villanueva, allegedly saw and chased the fleeing inmate around 6 p.m. Police also said dela Rosa most likely removed his standard orange inmate t-shirt right away so he would not be identified as an escapee.

Dela Rosa is a native of Sibonga town. He was brought to CPDRC on February 25, 2009 for a murder case. His escape is the first reported to have happened at CPDRC this year. 

Last Thursday, he was happy thinking that he would finally meet his mother again after almost three years of being jailed. But their supposed reunion last Thursday was interrupted when his mother, who came from Sibonga, was banned from entering the jail facility because she had no identification card with her.

This prompted the frustrated Dela Rosa, 27, to escape that night.

He was back at the hands of CPDRC authorities yesterday afternoon after he contacted and surrendered to Assistant Deputy Warden Reynaldo Pepito. (FREEMAN)