4 inmates bolt Pasig City Jail

While the police were busy conducting preparations for yesterday's nationwide transport strike, four detainees escaped by destroying the iron grills of their detention cell in Pasig City.

The disappearance of Roberto de Guzman, 16; Ericson Villareal, 22; Tagly Gaspar, 24, and Noel Magallanes, 24, was noticed by guards at 2:45 a.m. yesterday when one of the other inmates called their attention about the missing prisoners.

Chief Superintendent Rowland Albano, director of the Eastern Police District (EPD) immediately relieved SPO4 Florencio Domingo, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the custodial cell.

Albano also gave Superintendent John Sosito, Pasig City police chief, three days to account for all the inmates. The inmates were facing charges of theft, robbery and rape.

The EPD director said majority of the 345 Pasig City policemen were on the streets yesterday because of the transport strike. Only a skeletal staff remained at police headquarters.

SPO3 Oscar Mansibag, of the Inspectorate and Internal Affairs Office of the Pasig City police said the city has four detention cells. But because the three newly-constructed cells were already overcrowded, the four inmates and three others were placed in the dilapidated detention cell at the ground floor of the city police headquarters, said Mansibag.

The desk officer, PO2 Danilo Damasco said he was attending to a group of unruly and drunken men and recording complaints of direct assault and physical injuries when the four inmates escaped.

Damasco said he had checked the inmates as a routine every few minutes but the complaints took most of his time. When he came to check at 2:50 a.m., Damasco said he was informed by another inmate, Ramon del Rosario, that the four had destroyed the two iron grills and escaped using the back door.

The four left behind three sleeping inmates charged with rape, theft and frustrated homicide, Damasco said.