6 of 13 escaped PDEA detainees surrender

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga, Philippines – Six of the 13 detainees who had escaped from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)’s detention center turned themselves in at around noon yesterday.

In an interview with The STAR, PDEA director Isidro Lapeña Azurin said the six detainees surrendered together on MacArthur Highway in Plaridel, Bulacan accompanied by their relatives.

Azurin identified the detainees as: Marlon Oreza of Barangay Banga 1st, Plaridel town; Erick de la Cruz of Malubay, Valenzuela; Razel Derek de Jesus of Tiaong, Guiguinto town; Romel Reyes of Bagong Nayon, Baliuag; Renato Reyes of Baliuag, and Jeric Castillo of Banga 1st, Plaridel town, all in Bulacan.

Azurin said the six called him up early yesterday morning and said they were willing to surrender. He ordered his men to coordinate with them, so they met in Plaridel town.

Azurin said both the PDEA and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are hunting for the other seven escapees: Edilberto Clemente of Tondo, Manila; Eduardo Gregorio Jr., of Lumang Bayan, Plaridel, Bulacan; Roberto Castillo of Banga 1st, Plaridel town; Victor Briguel of Sapang Palay, City of San Jose del Monte; Robert Salas of Sto. Cristo, San Jose del Monte; Yahya Malang of Tarlac City, and Kiram Tambelawan also of Bulacan.

Azurin said the detainees escaped after cutting through the detention facility’s grill at around 1 to 2 a.m. last Sunday.

He said the escapees passed through Ems Barrio at the back of the Police Regional Office-3 headquarters at Camp Olivas.

The two guards on duty at the PDEA facility at the time of the escape are now under investigation. They face administrative and criminal charges if found guilty of lapses in their job.