182 bolt Leyte jail

CEBU, Philippines - At least 182 inmates had walked out of the compound of the Leyte Provincial Jail, through the main gate, at around 4 a.m. yesterday, according to Warden Merle Bertulfo.

Bertulfo said the inmates’ walkout, termed by other authorities as “jailbreak,” happened when coffee was served to them at the time. They massed themselves with their children and spouses as they walked past the guards at the gate into the highway. Warning shots have been fired but the inmates ignored these and kept on walking to their “freedom.”

Personnel of the Police Regional Office-8 responded to the scene to augment the jail personnel and, after a five-hour operation, were able to recapture a total of 147 inmates, leaving 35 more still at large.

Bertulfo told The Freeman that the cause of the inmates’ walkout was to air their unresolved complaints over the lack of food, and the delay in the resolution of their cases, documents of which were already lost in the Bulwagan Ha Katarungan (Hall of Justice) during the onslaught of Yolanda that also destroyed the jail.

A source from the jail also confirmed that the inmates did not intend to escape but only to get the attention of authorities about their plight, including the lack of roofing in their cells and the lack of action from justice officials on their pending cases.

Some inmates, whose cases were theft or the so-called “petty crimes,” have been jailed for more than three years already, with the courts apparently failing to conduct trials to resolve these, the source said.

Bertulfo said she had talked to those who were returned to the jail and told them to stay put and wait further, assuring them that she will refer the matter to justice authorities and asked the latter to speed up the resolution of the inmates’ cases in court.

There were reports also that prosecutors and justice officials in the province have met yesterday to discuss measures on how to handle the cases of the inmates, whose court records at the Hall of Justice were either destroyed or lost from the Yolanda devastation.

Senior Supt. Jose Macanas, director of the Ormoc City Police, meanwhile confirmed the “jailbreak” to The Freeman, saying he had alerted his men and units to set up checkpoints in their areas of responsibility to recapture at least 30 others who were still at large, as of press time.

Macanas said he urged the public or city residents to report any person with suspicious movements to the nearest police station or to barangay officials. (FREEMAN)