Five prisoners escape from Batangas jail

TANAUAN CITY, Batangas — Five prisoners of the Bureau of Jail Mangement and Penology (BJMP) here escaped from their detention cell on Sunday after taking one of the jail guards hostage, officials said.

Jail Officer 1 Godofredo Aquino, one of the two guards on duty at the time of the escape, was stabbed and critically wounded by the prisoners.

The prisoners reportedly pounced on Aquino when he opened the cell’s door to deliver their food at around 7 p.m. They also took his service revolver before bolting out of jail.

Jail warden Senior Inspector Norberto Abuda was relieved from his post and was replaced temporarily by Jail Inspector Arvin Abastillas.

Abastillas identified the escapees as Eduardo Fernandez, 42, of Lucena City; Romeo Lingkuran, 32, of Atimonan, Quezon; and Geraldo Andrade, 35, also of Lucena City.

The three were facing kidnap-for-ransom charges after abducting a certain Yolanda Escobar and Randy Verdaluza in Sto. Tomas, Batangas in Dec. 2001.

The two other escapees are Richard Gumayao, 30; and Domingo Lanceta, 40, both of this city who are facing murder charges.

The suspects reportedly flagged down a passing Land Cruiser, with licence plate PKP 660 owned by a certain Eriberto Manalo, and at gunpoint ordered it to proceed to Quezon province.

The vehicle was recovered yesterday by the Lucena City police. The jailbreak was the second this year in Tanauan and happened exactly 11 days after the first jailbreak on Jan. 29 where five inmates also escaped.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has intensified the manhunt for the five escapees. — With Christina Mendez