By John Mark Escandor
PILI, Camarines Sur, (PNA) — The nine inmates who bolted the Provincial Jail of Camarines Sur early Wednesday morning were accused of murder, rape, drug trafficking, robbery, carnapping and illegal possession of firearms, a jail official said.
Jose Francisco Musa, jail warden, identified the escapees and the crimes they were accused of as Muriel San Joaquin, carnapping; Richard Tell, statutory rape; Juan Polidario, illegal possession of firearms; and Kalim Padillo, frustrated murder.
Musa also named the four other escapees as Roy Cabaltera, rape; Erwin Capus and Eugene Porutas, drug trafficking; Roland Negrido, murder; and Lyod Gilford Embile, crime not recorded.
The jail warden said the steel bars were sawed, but authorities did not recover the saw used in cutting the opening which is more or less 2 feet x 1.5 feet in size.
On close inspection, the edges of the steel bars taken out from the rail seemed smoothly cut off with almost perfect alignment.
Musa said the nine escapees were among 41 inmates quartered in Brigada Uno.
Isidro Rico, inmate of Brigada Uno, said he discovered the cut-out opening above the toilet at about 12:30 a.m. and reported the incident to a certain Richard Pacis, who made the head count at about 12 midnight.
Musa said Marlo Argarin, jail supervisor, discovered the jailbreak at about the same time and reported it to him.
He said police authorities were informed at about 12:35 a.m. and arrived at the scene at about 1 a.m.
Musa said there were 226 inmates before the jailbreak in the Provincial Jail of Camarines Sur located in Barangay Tinangis in Pili town.