BJMP officials accused of covering up hostage in NCotabato jail

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines - Local officials accused members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology operating the North Cotabato provincial jail of trying to cover up Monday’s hostage crisis at the penitentiary compound at Barangay Amas.

A group of inmates, complaining of lack of food supply and alleged “sexual advances” on female visitors by male jail guards, hogtied for three hours last Monday SJO3 Samuel Sunico, whom they released only after reporters arrived to listen to their grievances.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, chairperson of the provincial peace and order council, said she herself felt duped after realizing that BJMP officials tried to downplay the incident as just a “drill” when she sought for an update on the incident during the height of the hostage situation.

“I have asked the provincial board to investigate on that cover up attempt. That’s something I will never take very lightly,” Mendoza said.

Sunico is a trained “dance therapist” handling rehabilitative psycho-social dance lessons for inmates.

Responding investigators from the Kidapawan City police said the unsuspecting Sunico was about to start his morning session with inmates when the hostage-takers subdued him, tied his hands and feet and forced him to sit on a chair at the center of a basketball court inside the jail compound to attract the attention of guards and other detainees.

Mendoza was ranting on the incident since it was her administration that transferred, via a written agreement, the control of the jail to the BJMP from the provincial government, convinced that the bureau can manage the facility better.

The hostage-takers only agreed to set Sunico free and return to their cells after an emissary of Mendoza arrived to pacify them and in exchange for a promise by radio reporters to air their complaints.

Mendoza said she will have the complaints of the inmates immediately addressed.

Mendoza also ordered the BJMP officials overseeing the jail to refrain from allowing “trustees” to leave the jail premises to do errands.

“One trustee from the jail did not return from an errand somewhere outside. Another trustee went missing after having been ordered to gather firewood outside of the jail compound.”  A visibly irked Mendoza said.

Chief Inspector Janeth Espartero, warden of the provincial jail, said they are now documenting the incident in preparation for the filing of corresponding cases against the hostage-takers.

Espartero was quick to disprove the inmates' allegations of mismanagement and abuses on female visitors by his male subordinate-jail guards.

“It is not true either that we give them staled food as they have alleged,” Espartero said.