Iwahig escapee recaptured

MANILA, Philippines – A cargo ship that was supposed to have taken a prison escapee to freedom turned out to be his ride back to jail.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Palawan district commander Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista yesterday said that 33-year-old Allan Abadillo was re-arrested after his escape plans failed.

Abadillo, who is reportedly serving time for armed robbery and homicide, managed to escape from the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Initial information reaching the PCG Palawan district showed that at around 7 p.m. of Monday, Abadillo boarded the cargo ship M/V Joseph, skippered by Captain Aquilo Malolot.

“It appeared that Abadillo managed to slip inside the ship when he joined the stevedores who were entering the port area at around 7 p.m. of Sept. 3. But he was spotted by some of the crewmen at around 2:30 a.m. yesterday (Sept. 4),” said Evangelista.

“It seemed that the escapee boarded the ship because he thought that the M/V Joseph was already leaving the port. But it turned out that it was just going to lower its anchor,” he added.

The ship’s crew apprehend him and turned him over to the authorities.

At 3:20 a.m. the ship’s crew reported the incident to the Coast Guard station and port police manning the anchorage area.

They told authorities that there was an unidentified man on board their vessel and by 4:20 a.m., Abadillo was turned over to officers of the Bureau of Corrections.