Davao jailbreak: 17 escape

DAVAO CITY – Seventeen detainees bolted the Tagum City jail in broad daylight last Sunday.

Ten of the escapees were captured in a nearby barangay three hours later after residents spotted them and called the police.

The escapees were identified as brothers Ludivico and Rolando Orsal, Armando Calanday, Joel Taquio, Neil Agosto, Richard Are-quivel, Geronimo Dayanan, Diosdado Diaz, Randy Gon-zales, Jojo Mabanding, Elisco Medes, Romeo Purog, Ireneo Respecio, Jose Sajorga, Jacinto Salamo, Petronio Siga, and Romeo Trinidad.

The Orsals are facing charges of robbery with homicide, while Calanday and Taquio were in jail for various drug-related cases.

Reports said the 17 inmates escaped at around 12:30 p.m. after one of them hit jail guard Glen Maranon on the head with a lead pipe.

Maranon regained consciousness a few minutes later with a wound in the head.

Tagum City police director Superintendent Marcelo Pintac immediately ordered a manhunt for the seven other escapees, who are facing charges ranging from robbery to murder.

Men of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Davao del Norte Police were also sent to track down and capture the escapees.

BJMP officials have ordered the warden of Tagum City Jail to explain how the detainees were able to destroy the padlocks of their cells.

It was learned that 200 inmates are locked up in the jail, which could house at least 80 inmates. – Edith Regalado, Christina Mendez