By Cris Diaz
CAMP ALAGAR, Cagayan de Oro City, (PNA) –- Authorities have captured four inmates who bolted from the Valencia City Jail on Wednesday afternoon as crack teams of the Philippine National Police (PNP) track down the remaining 13 inmates who remain at large.
Pol. Supt. Ronnie Cariaga, spokesperson of the PNP regional command here, said that four other inmates surrendered to authorities bringing to a total of eight escapee-inmates accounted for as of Thursday afternoon.
Cariaga identified the four arrested inmates as Rogelio Tayros, Albert Espinosa (with a 9-mm pistol recovered from him), Roel Llacuna, and Reymart Belmes (with one 12-gauge shotgun and two getaway motorcycles).
He said that four other escapees — Carlos Lubos, Ronald Ga, and Jorem Barros surrendered to the police and jail officials; while Jamaal Sambarani surrendered to barangay officials in Pinatilan.
Twenty one inmates bolted from the Valencia City Jail around 3:30 p.m Wednesday after overpowering lady jail guards who were conducting an Alternative Learning School class inside the facility of the city jail in Barangay Pinatilan, Valencia City.
The inmates attacked the lady jail guards – took the keys and freed prisoners at the city jail’s Cell No. 3 and Cell No. 9, destroyed the locks and ransacked the jail’s armory, carted away five shotguns and four 9-mm pistols and commandeered motorcycles before fleeing in various directions – mostly along rice paddies and sugar cane plantations in the vicinity of the city jail.
Cariaga said the manhunt operations had been expanded to areas outside Valencia as flash alarms were sent to neighboring provinces to alert police stations and establish checkpoints in possible route areas of the escapees.
Cariaga also warned the public and law enforcers that the 13 inmates still at large have five shotguns and four 9-mm pistols which they took from the jail armory.