Kidapawan police no clue on whereabouts of escaped inmates

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines -  The authorities remained still clueless on the whereabouts of the six detainees who bolted from the local police's detention facility at dawn Sunday.

Superintendent Leo Ajero, chief of the Kidapawan City police, said they have tapped the support of barangay officials in the city in locating the detainees, who escaped from their cell by cutting through the protective grills using a hacksaw.

One of the escapees is a minor, according to Ajero.

He identified the other five fugitives as Latip Macarao Ampaso, Alvin Saloder Adajar, Darwin Monde Lejista, Eduardo Saladaor Elagan, and Cris Ferbrero Selbano, who were implicated in various offenses, including carnapping, robbery, and violation of the Violence Against Women and Children Law.

Investigators have tagged Ampaso, who is identified with a big drug trafficking gang, as the brains behind the jailbreak.

Ampaso and the other escapees were waiting for an order from a local court for their transfer to the provincial jail in Amas District.

Ampaso was arrested for drug trafficking more than a week before the escape.

Last April, four inmates also escaped from the detention facility.

Ajero said he is ready to face the consequence of the latest jailbreak, which he believe can possibly cause his relief from the city’s top police post.