Initial reports said some of the escapees included suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf who are facing charges of kidnapping and murder.
The inmates broke out of their cells after overpowering their guards at the provincial jail in Barangay Sumagdang at about 11 a.m., police said. Three of the guards were shot and wounded during the escape.
Authorities said eight of the escaped inmates were later killed and nine others recaptured, including one of the detainees earlier wounded during pursuit operations jointly launched by the military and police.
At Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero confirmed that five of those who were killed were Abu Sayyaf members.
Lucero also confirmed that 53 of the 137 detainees in the provincial jail joined the mass jailbreak.
Authorities are still hunting down 36 other escapees, some of whom are hardened criminals.
Officials could not say exactly how many of the escapees were members of the Abu Sayyaf, the Islamic extremist group that was once based in Basilan.
The jailbreak came despite tightened security in Mindanao imposed after the killing of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Hamsiraji Sali and five other members of the group also in Basilan on Maundy Thursday.
Police said they are focusing on the possibility that the jailbreak might have been in retaliation for Sali’s death and an effort by the Abu Sayyaf to regroup.
Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said the escapees were led by a certain Abu Blak, a sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf, and two alleged cohorts identified as Abdulasis Ngaya and a certain Burhan.
Officials said Blak once tried to break free from his guard during a court hearing but was knocked down by a punch from a government prosecutor.
Akbar ordered the police and jail authorities to shoot any escapee who refuses to surrender.
"There is no negotiation," Akbar said. "In the first place these people bolted their cells."
Akbar personally led joint police-military pursuit operations for the escaped prisoners.
Basilan military commander Col. Reymundo Ferrer said troops have been alerted to prevent the escapees from moving to the Sampinit complex, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold before the group was drive.
Lucero said AFP chief Gen. Narciso Abaya has issued orders for all government troops in Basilan to help the police in the manhunt.
Military units were also directed to block off all exit points in the island province, Lucero said.
Western Mindanao police director Chief Superintendent Servando Hizon said the prisoners rushed at the guards handing out food before grabbing their firearms in making their escape.
Three of the inmates were killed and three guards were wounded in the melee, Hizon said.
"The detainees (were) mostly Abu Sayyaf suspects who were charged by the court for string of cases rushed up the guards feeding them," Hizon said quoting reports from the Basilan provincial police.
Senior Inspector William Gadayan, Isabela City police chief, said their initial investigation indicated a caliber .45 pistol was smuggled into the prison which was used by an inmate to shoot one of the guards on duty.
The prisoners then seized a shotgun and two M-16 rifles equipped with grenade launchers from the two other guards, Gadayan said.
"The 53 inmates overpowered the 21 jailguards," he said.
Hizon added his men took the precautions of pursuing the escaped detainees since some of them were putting up a fight in some areas in the town.
The escaped prisoners then broke up into smaller groups and scattered in different directions, he said.
Officials said the escapees were part of the total of 137 Abu Sayyaf suspects facing criminal charges before the Basilan regional trial court.
Authorities are still trying to determine how many of the escaped inmates were in pre-trial custody and how many have been convicted.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Operations chief Director Avelino Razon said pursuit operations are under way against a group 19 escapees who have fled to a mangrove area in Barangay Sumagdang.
Razon said no casualties or injuries were reported on the police and military in the ongoing pursuit operations in the area.
A total of 40 policemen complemented the joint pursuit operations with the military with some militiamen.
Razon said PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered the deployment of additional policemen and coordinate their efforts with the military.
"The PNP chief ordered the Basilan provincial police to coordinate with the Army brigade in the area to conduct manhunt operations against those involved in the Basilan jailbreak," Razon said.
Government troops in the province have been ordered to help in the manhunt.
Troops have been placed on alert against possible retaliatory attacks from the Abu Sayyaf following the death of Sali and five other bandits, Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamco said.
Sali is one of the remaining top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf wanted by the US government for kidnapping and murder of two of its citizens.
The US government posted a reward of $5-million each for the capture of Sali along with Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani, Isnilon Hapilon, and Jainal Antel Sali alias Abu Solaiman. - With Christina Mendez, AFP