Tupas orders probe on IRC jail break
ILOILO Governor Niel Tupas has ordered a probe on the escape of three inmates at the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (IRC) which led to the death of one escapee.
IRC warden Atty. Soteo Gardose said Tupas has already handed down an executive order creating an investigating team to conduct an investigation on the jail break which killed notorious robbery hold up suspect Roger Palma early dawn of January 3.
Gardose said the investigating team would be led by Atty. Salvador Cabaluna, provincial legal officer. The investigation will center on the liability of the jail guards as well as search and security measures imposed at the reformatory center.
Gardose admitted there is a laxity on the part of the jail guards. Though, he refused to name the jail guards on duty at the time when Palma and his accomplices Renante Dago and Freddie Gonzales bolted out of the detention cell.
In a radio interview, Gardose admitted the recent jail break is a manifestation of lapses on the conduct of searches among the visitors of the inmates. It is a human factor that aided the inmates in escaping from prison. They would be charged criminally and administratively because of the jail break.
The visitors of the escapees were able to sneak in cellular phones, pliers and sawing blade used in cutting the iron grills inside the detention cell. They completed sawing the grills for almost three days.
The IRC management has a standing policy that prohibits the inmates from having in their possession cellular phones while inside the rehabilitation center.
The cellular phone was used by the three inmates in establishing contacts to individuals in fleeing the premises of the rehabilitation center. They planned the escape since Dec. 25.
Palma and his group were provided arms by their contacts in the nearby barangays. The firearms include an improvised M203 and a fragmentation grenade. One of those who supplied the firearms is already in the custody of the Pototan municipal police station.
Gardose added they only discovered that three of their inmates were missing when the duty jail guards conducted a head count Sunday morning. They saw the iron grills in cell 24 and cut the cyclone wire used as perimeter fence.
Moreover, Gardose said the lack of required structure inside the rehabilitation center also contributed on the jail break. There is no guard house, tower and concrete perimeter fence.
He said the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has disapproved the budget they requested last year to complete the required facility inside the rehabilitation center. The disapproved IRC budget amounted to P7 million.
The tower is important in preventing jail breaks. At present, the jail guards can only monitor inmates’ movement by posting themselves at the mess hall, said Gardose.
