CEBU, Philippines - Rumors spread of a jailbreak at the Cebu City Jail in Barangay Kalunasan yesterday after visiting privileges were suspended after an inmate leader stabbed two fellow inmates past noon yesterday.
Jail Warden Johnson Calub identified the assailant as Ariel “Bobong†Degamo, 32, the designated leader of all cell leaders inside the jail, more commonly known as the “mayor de mayoresâ€.
Degamo, from Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, who is facing charges for robbery with homicide, murder and drugs, repeatedly stabbed Alinor “Brix†Andingan.
Andingan, from Marawi City, in jail for charges of selling illegal drugs, sustained at least 10 stab wounds in different parts of his body, Calub said.
Another inmate, Michael Sansan, a murder suspect, sustained four stab wounds in the back while reportedly trying to pacify Degamo and Andingan. Calub said they have yet to recover the weapon, an improvised bladed instrument.
The warden said that based on their initial investigation, Degamo reportedly ordered another inmate to call Andingan and meet with him at the third floor of their main building.
After Andingan arrived, the two of them reportedly had an argument before Degamo stabbed him repeatedly.
Sansan tried to pacify, but Degamo also stabbed him before jail officers arrived to subdue him.
Paramedics of the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation responded to the call for assistance and took the injured inmates to the Cebu Doctors Hospital.
Calub said Andingan was rushed to the emergency room but he and Sasan are now in stable condition.
According to Calub, the disciplinary board of the Cebu City Jail has yet to decide what sanction to impose on Degamo, who was included in their meeting right after he was apprehended.
Normally, erring inmates are placed in an isolation cell but there may be considerations especially as Degamo is a cell leader, Calub said.
Visiting privileges were suspended and goods intended for the inmates were delivered to them through the jail officers. Calub said this was for security purposes.
The jail warden also denied rumors that the inmates were drinking when the incident happened.
“Naa’y commotion because it is really a taboo na ang mga inmates dunggabon especially sa leader pa g’yud,†Calub said.
He said that right after the stabbing victims were rushed outside the jail, other inmates ran toward the gate.
“Mi-attempt sila og hamag sa gate after the commotion, but na-pacify ra nato,†Calub further said.
Personnel from the Special Weapons and Tactics team of the Cebu City Police Office and Special Reactions Unit of the Cebu Provincial Police Office were dispatched to the jail to serve as backup.
SWAT team member SPO1 Reynante Nioda said they checked with the jail warden about the situation inside right after the commotion and were told that it was manageable.
When the police arrived, they proceeded to the gate of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center just across the city jail, which briefly alarmed the residents and the media and gave rise to rumors that their arrival was related to a jailbreak threat.
However, Nioda explained that they went to the CPDRC after thinking there was an incident there as a large crowd was gathering in front of it. They immediately proceeded to the city jail after learning that the event actually took place there.
About an hour later, the policemen started pulling out.
Not related to “jailbreak threatâ€
Calub said the stabbing incident was motivated by a personal grudge between Degamo and Andingan, which they have yet to determine.
He said the incident is not related to the jailbreak threat which was earlier stated by Byron Garcia, brother of suspended Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
But Calub said that he issued an alert status after receiving a report from their intelligence community of Byron’s statements of a jail riot that would lead to a mass jailbreak.
Byron claimed that inmates at CPDRC sympathize with him and the suspended governor. —/BRP (FREEMAN)