COTABATO CITY–The police have launched a manhunt against two inmates, who bolted from the Maguindanao provincial jail situated on Pedro Colina Hill in this city before dawn Sunday.
“The two escapees were “trustees” of the Maguindanao provincial jail facility,” Senior Supt. Rolly Octavio, city police director, told reporters here in an interview Monday.
Octavio identified the escapees as John Paul Datuwata and Albert Uga, both of Upi, Maguindanao, and facing murder and carnapping charges.
Initial investigation revealed that the duo passed through the ceiling of the jail building past 12 midnight, breaking their way out by scaling the walls of the facility.
“They were trusted prisoners for so long by the jail guards,” Octavio said of the escapees, who did the errands within the jail premises.
The police offices of Cotabato City and Maguindanao have coordinated with the fugitives’ respective families in Upi town to help them locate and convince the runaways to yield. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)