MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has placed the Parañaque City Jail under red alert and ordered the suspension of inmate visitations pending the completion of parallel probes by the BJMP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) into the grenade explosion on Thursday night that left the jail warden injured and 10 inmates dead.
According to BJMP spokesman Jail Senior Inspector Xavier Solda, the BJMP’s probe of the incident continues even as it yet has to receive an official report from the Parañaque City Police.
“Ongoing pa din ang investigation. No submitted report yet from the PNP. We are hoping na matatapos ito (probe) at the soonest time possible. If okay na ang lahat and the investigators have completed their requirements, we will resume the visitation,” Solda said.
Solda said Jail Senior Inspector Percibal Valenzuela has been designated at the jail as “caretaker” pending the designation of the new warden to replace injured warden, Jail Superintendent Gerald Bantag.
Bantag sustained shrapnel injuries following the explosion that occurred at his office at around 8:30 p.m. According to Parañaque City Police chief, Senior Superintendent Jose Carumba, investigators have yet to interview Bantag who remains confined at a hospital.
Parañaque City Police earlier theorized that the inmates killed in the explosion may have plotted to hold Bantag hostage in a bid to escape, an official said Friday.
“That is one of the angles being looked into by the investigators based on their initial investigation. But no final report on this yet,” said Solda.
Solda added that aside from the lockdown of the Parañaque City Jail, the BJMP has also augmented the regular jail guards of the city jail with personnel from its Special Tactics and Response Team (STAR) who are trained and equipped for emergency situations.
Carumba earlier said that based on their investigation, the inmates reportedly tried to take Bantag hostage as part of a jailbreak and the warden shot it out with them.
Police said at least 10 inmates at the five-storey city jail requested an audience with Bantag but allegedly pulled out a grenade and an Uzi machine pistol as they approached his office and began shooting at the warden.
“The warden shot back and hit the inmate holding the grenade. It exploded in the room,” Carumba said, adding that eight were reported to have died at the scene while two were declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.
Carumba could not say who was holding the grenade. Carumba earlier said the city police is recommending the filing of criminal and administrative complaints against the jail guards who escorted the prisoners to Bantag’s office for not frisking the inmates when they went out of their cells.
The inmates who were killed on Thursday night were identified by the BJMP as Waren Manampen, Ronald Domdom, Rodel Domdom, Danilo Pineda, Joseph Villasor, Oliver Sarreal, Jeremy Flores, Jonathan Ilas and Chinese detainees Jacky Huang and Yonghan Cai.
All 10 of the inmates were detained on drug charges except for Villasor, who was charged with robbery with homicide and Ilas who faced a robbery with illegal possession of firearms case.
Meanwhile, Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez Friday ordered the dismantling of shanties adjacent the city jail alleging that these are the sources of contraband being smuggled into the jail.
In a statement, Olivarez said various contraband such as bladed weapons, cigarettes, guns, illegal drugs, liquor and mobile phones are being smuggled from the shanties that are adjacent to the jail.
Olivarez said the contraband items are smuggled into the jail in the wee hours of the morning when most of the inmates are asleep and many of the jail guards are relaxed.