Taytay jail warden axed over escape

For Taytay, Rizal municipal jail warden Bernardo Ruiz, when it rains, it pours.

Taking advantage of the heavy rains and gusty winds of typhoon "Egay," three prisoners under Ruiz’s watch escaped undetected early Sunday morning – this after nine other inmates bolted the same facility last month.

The municipal jail’s high number of escapees in a short span of time has prompted Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. to relieve Ruiz and jail officers JO3 Gerry Provido, JO4 Eugenio Reyes and a certain JO1 Eliezar from their posts.

"I have heard information that I would be the one who would be relieved first because of the incident," Ruiz told reporters.

Ruiz identified the escapees as Jaime Villafuerte, Allan Toledo and Jose Mendoza, all facing drug-related charges.

The prisoners, he said, were able to escape by sawing their cell’s old, rusty grills with an improvised metal cutter.

"The inmates had an easy time sawing the grills because they were already rusting," Ruiz said.

However, he added, jail guards were able to prevent seven other prisoners, who were on the jail’s rooftop, from escaping.

"Let this incident underscore the need for all our wardens and jail guards to be on alert and on their toes all the time to prevent the occurrence of jail escapes in their respective jurisdictions," Lina said.