10 inmates bolt Batangas jail; 8 recaptured

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines — Eight of 10 inmates who escaped from the Batangas Provincial Rehabilitation Center in Ibaan town yesterday morning were recaptured shortly after the incident.

Five of the escapees were arrested in a passenger bus, which was pulled over by members of a tracker team along the STAR Tollway at the boundary of Tanauan and Sto. Tomas, according to Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaoiran, spokesperson for the Calabarzon police.

Three other escapees were arrested in a pursuit operation in Ibaan on the same day.

Lt. Col. Aleli Buaquen, spokesperson for the Batangas police, denied reports that a hostage incident occurred in the bus before the inmates surrendered.

“There was a negotiation before the escapees surrendered peacefully, but no hostage-taking,” Buaquen said.

The escapees were reportedly carrying a pistol and a bladed weapon.

Gaoiran said the police tracker team used a drone to track down the inmates shortly after the jailbreak in Barangay Malainin.

Investigation showed a jail guard was escorting the inmates to the facility’s utility room between 9 and 10 p.m. when one of the detainees pointed an icepick at the guard and took his service firearm.

Other prisoners took advantage of the situation and fled toward Barangay Quilo, probers said.

Gaoiran said the identities of the two remaining escapees were not immediately available.

A manhunt was launched for the two escapees.

Following the incident, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto ordered an investigation into the incident. — Arnell Ozaeta