Five prisoners of the Negros Occidental District Jail in Bago City broke out of their cells and escaped Tuesday, June 29.
Lawyer Jairus Anthony Dogelio, spokesperson of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-6, said a manhunt operation for the escapees, who are considered high-risk because of the cases they are facing, is ongoing.
The BJMP-6 is offering a P50,000 reward to anyone who can give information that would lead to the capture of the five prisoners, at P10,000 for each inmate, he said.
The escapees were identified as:
- Francisco Epogon of Cauayan town, who is said to be part of the notorious Epogon robbery group that is based in Negros Occidental. He was charged with robbery with homicide and robbery with violation against intimidation of person.
- Marvin Celeste of Victorias City is facing charges for illegal possession of firearms.
- Danilo Celeste of Victorias City was charged with carnapping, robbery, illegal possession of firearms, and attempted homicide.
- Alejandro Montoya of Victorias City has cases for carnapping, robbery, illegal possession of firearms, attempted homicide, and acts of lasciviousness.
- Daniel Tamon of Salvador Benedicto town is facing murder charges.
Dogelio said the inmates fled at around 1:20 a.m. by cutting the grills of their cell window with a makeshift saw.
The prisoners then tied their clothes and different pieces of cloth together to climb over the 20-foot wall, he said.
The closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera did not capture their escape as the area was a blind spot, he added.
The incident led to the relief of Supt. Prizel Arevalo, Negros Occidental provincial jail warden, effective immediately. He was replaced by Chief Inspector Abner Zamora,
An investigation of the jail guards on duty will be conducted to determine if there were any lapses.*