Step up manhunt for Leyte jail escapees, urges lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines - Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian is asking authorities to step up their manhunt for Leyte detainees who escaped during the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda last November.

Gatchalian made the call after police caught an escapee in his bailiwick. The 33-year-old fugitive, found illegally carrying a gun replica and ammunition, admitted that he fled the Leyte provincial jail as Yolanda pummeled the area.

Quoting the police, Gatchalian said the escapee, Reynald Homirez, is an alleged gun-for-hire and drug pusher facing trial for separate cases of homicide and robbery.

Homirez is currently held at the Valenzuela City detention facility.

Some 160 prisoners facing trial on murder, rape, robbery, and other crimes had escaped. More than 30 are still unaccounted for. Some of the escapees returned to jail because they could not find food outside.

“It has been seven months since Yolanda ravaged the Visayas. Our law enforcers clearly have to increase their efforts in taking these fugitives back into their custody,” Gatchalian said.

“If one inmate managed to dodge cops for months and hide in Metro Manila, what are the odds that others could have slipped to neighboring countries with lax patrol of their territorial waters?” he asked.

He urged the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Leyte to coordinate with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces in capturing the escapees.

He also suggested that the BJMP speed up the P22.32-million repair and construction of jail facilities in eastern Visayas to avert future jailbreaks and address congestion.

He commended the Valenzuela City police for re-arresting Homirez.